Thread: Passports and visas

I have a U.S. passport and an expired Polish one. I will get a new Polish one soon so I don't have to get a visa. Is having two passports legal?

Originally Posted by menia12

I have a U.S. passport and an expired Polish one. I will get a new Polish one soon so I don't have to get a visa. Is having two passports legal?

Zarowno RP jak i USA nie robia problemu z posiadania paszportu (obywatelstwa) innego kraju. Chcesz potwierdzic to oficjalnie, to napisz list elektroniczny do polskiego konsulatu lub ambasady.
Bedac polskim obywatelem nie potrzebujesz polskiej wizy.

You are basically in the same situation I'm in. I have both passports (both valid). The Polish consulate (LA) told me to enter PL on my polish passport. No legal issues what so ever. You just have to bring both, because while you need to enter PL on your polish passport to not need a visa, you must exit the US on your American one. That's what I was told and it worked for me no problems. The reverse applies for when you go back (leave on PL, enter on US). You switch at a connection.

realP~ please stick to English. This is a forum in English and while I replied to the other thread in Polish due to the nature of conversation (though I'd rather we move that one to English as well); it's unfair to those prospective students (or current ones who wish to contribute) who can't speak Polish. It's common courtesy to keep a conversation in a language common to all.

Originally Posted by Elssha

You are basically in the same situation I'm in. I have both passports (both valid). The Polish consulate (LA) told me to enter PL on my polish passport. No legal issues what so ever. You just have to bring both, because while you need to enter PL on your polish passport to not need a visa, you must exit the US on your American one. That's what I was told and it worked for me no problems. The reverse applies for when you go back (leave on PL, enter on US). You switch at a connection.

realP~ please stick to English. This is a forum in English and while I replied to the other thread in Polish due to the nature of conversation (though I'd rather we move that one to English as well); it's unfair to those prospective students (or current ones who wish to contribute) who can't speak Polish. It's common courtesy to keep a conversation in a language common to all.

Nie ma tam ani slowa o tym, ze jezykiem tej strony jest angielski. Ja wybieram polski. Jezeli ktos polskiego nie zna albo np. wstydzi sie po polsku pisac, to moze pisac po angielsku.

Originally Posted by realPolak

Nie ma tam ani slowa o tym, ze jezykiem tej strony jest angielski. Ja wybieram polski. Jezeli ktos polskiego nie zna albo np. wstydzi sie po polsku pisac, to moze pisac po angielsku.

Trans: "There's not a word stating that the language of this site is english. I choose polish. If someone doesn't know polish or, for instance, is embarrassed to write in it, then he can write in english."

I'm not embarrassed. It's understandable that I prefer to type in the language I grew up using and to which my computer is geared towards. I also find reading Polish without the special characters a bit discerning since I'm not used to reading it in either form and sometimes it takes me a bit to realize what the word is supposed to be without the accented letters. I never claimed to have perfect Polish... especially not in reading/writing. I get by.
As for the forum...If seeing that practically all BUT your posts are in English is not enough for you to realize you should write in English, especially since this forum is meant to give info on the school and answer questions of future students (most of whom know no Polish whatsoever), then I don't know what to tell you. Again, it's a matter of common courtesy... those little unwritten rules that make life pleasant for all. Not everything in life needs to be spelled out for you for it to be true. The matter would be different if a person asking the question didn't speak english, which you obviously do.
Oh, and just FYI; the profs don't usually appreciate you speaking polish to them in a classroom setting (where the others can't understand) and usually reiterate the conversations they have with you in English so your classmates don't feel like they're giving you extra info than that which they gave the other students. If you feel more comfortable with Polish than English, I'd suggest trying to get into the Polish program at MUL... it not only costs less (or nothing, if you manage to get into the public one), but you'll probably learn more since the lectures will be in the professors' native tongue and the language they learned and practice in. I know one person I previously spoke to on this forum did so, though his interest in speaking Polish was no where near what yours is. Best of luck!

Wow! Great info again Elssha! I was planning on contacting the Polish consulate myself since I do have both passports... My friend complicated matters by telling me that now I also need a European Union issued passport/documentation. I'll pass this info on to her as well.

Kamil

No worries ^_^
I got my passport around 2006 if i recall correctly. As long as it's not expired though, it shouldn't matter when it was issued; it's still a polish passport until the day it expires. To my knowledge, there isn't any EU passport... the passports of the separate countries just conform to the standards set by the EU with security protections, formats and such... same for other documentation. I know the old ID's are now invalid, but that's because the old ones had NO expiration date so a countrywide exp date had to be set or many wouldn't bother.

MedDoc - haha since I'm the friend whom you'll pass the info on to consider me informed ))) and yeah - the passports are not EU per se - they're the new Polish passports which differ from the old ones in that the EU requires them to possess certain info the old ones did not.

They're still valid though. And I know for a fact that mine is pre-chip (it was coming in a couple months after i got mine) and it won't expire until after i leave for rotations ^_^.

Originally Posted by Elssha

Trans: "There's not a word stating that the language of this site is english. I choose polish. If someone doesn't know polish or, for instance, is embarrassed to write in it, then he can write in english."

I'm not embarrassed. It's understandable that I prefer to type in the language I grew up using and to which my computer is geared towards. I also find reading Polish without the special characters a bit discerning since I'm not used to reading it in either form and sometimes it takes me a bit to realize what the word is supposed to be without the accented letters. I never claimed to have perfect Polish... especially not in reading/writing. I get by.
As for the forum...If seeing that practically all BUT your posts are in English is not enough for you to realize you should write in English, especially since this forum is meant to give info on the school and answer questions of future students (most of whom know no Polish whatsoever), then I don't know what to tell you. Again, it's a matter of common courtesy... those little unwritten rules that make life pleasant for all. Not everything in life needs to be spelled out for you for it to be true. The matter would be different if a person asking the question didn't speak english, which you obviously do.
Oh, and just FYI; the profs don't usually appreciate you speaking polish to them in a classroom setting (where the others can't understand) and usually reiterate the conversations they have with you in English so your classmates don't feel like they're giving you extra info than that which they gave the other students. If you feel more comfortable with Polish than English, I'd suggest trying to get into the Polish program at MUL... it not only costs less (or nothing, if you manage to get into the public one), but you'll probably learn more since the lectures will be in the professors' native tongue and the language they learned and practice in. I know one person I previously spoke to on this forum did so, though his interest in speaking Polish was no where near what yours is. Best of luck!

Byc moze dlatego, ze w USA Polacy uchodza za glupcow ("polacks"), i w obawie przed ujawnieniem sie, nie mowia tam po polsku albo mowia tak, zeby ich nikt nie slyszal.
Z czego to wynika?
Wsrod polskiej emigracji zarobkowej lat osiemdziesiatych, jak i wielu poprzednich, bylo wiele osob "niezbyt skazonych intelektem". Stad w spoleczenstwie amerykanskim powstaly stereotypy i dowcipy o Polakach, np. w jaki sposob "polacks" wiaza buty (stojac klada noge na stol po to by schylajac sie sznurowac noge na ktorej stoja).
Zeby uniknac tym podobnych niwybrednych dowcipow i szykan, Polacy ci wymyslili, ze nie beda uczyc swoich dzieci polskiego jezyka. Dzieci w ten sposob zrozumialy, ze poslugiwanie sie polskim jezykiem jest czyms wstydliwym.