PESEL stands for Universal Electronic System of Population Records (in Polish wording: Powszechnego Elektronicznego Systemu Ewidencji Ludności) and is a national identification number used in Poland since 1979. This is the most important and widely number for an individual person used in public administration procedures, and it is likely that you will be requested to provide it to authorities at some point. PESEL number works also as a Tax Id number for individuals who are not conducting business in Poland. If you are a foreigner, you will not require this number in most cases, however, there are sometimes it will be obligatory or just simplify your life in Poland.
PESEL – ways to acquire it
There are two ways to acquire PESEL for foreigners. First one is an automatic acquisition upon having place of permanent residence registered in Poland for a period longer than 30 days – after that time authorities will provide one for you without any additional formalities. Second one is applying for assigning of PESEL number in the municipality/township office. Please note, however, that there should exist a legal basis for granting a PESEL number, otherwise, your application will be rejected.
Applying for PESEL number
Applying requires submission of a filled application form and document confirming your identity and information written in the application, with the simplest solution being passport. Information required in order to complete the form:
- Name and Surname
- Correspondence address
- Country of residence
- Citizenship
- Serial number of document confirming identity
- Family name
- Place of birth
- Designation of the birth certificate
- Designation of registry office that issued birth certificate
- Names and Surnames (family) of parents
- Marital status
- Name, surname and PESEL (if available) of spouse (if applicable)
- Events that influenced marriage (marriage, divorce, death, etc) and their dates
- Legal basis for application – it will be provided by authorities in case of requesting PESEL
During the process of granting a PESEL number the local authorities may require additional documents such as birth certificate, marriage/divorce certificate, confirmation of the residential address etc. Nevertheless, most often it is possible to carry out the entire procedure without these documents.
Assistance
If you are in need of help you can appoint an Intertax representative to submit an application for you and take care of all formalities involving acquiring PESEL. In order to represent you in this case power of attorney is required. With a filled application, passport, and power of attorney a proxy is fully prepared to complete the process of applying for PESEL for you. If you are seeking a proxy, please contact us – Intertax provides services of such nature and is capable of helping you in times of need.
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