W Y D
LEGAL SERVICES FOR FOREIGNERS IN POLAND
We speak English
Nous parlons francais
Hablamos español
Wir sprechen deutsch
Мы говорим по-русски

Word Youth Day in Krakow 2016 is an exceptional event, both for Pilgrims coming to Poland and for Krakow residents, who are to welcome them. According to estimates, there may be more than 2 mln people participating in WYD.
It’s a huge challenge to keep everyone safe and undisturbed in celebration activities. Like in any gathering of people, there is always a chance of an accident to happen. To mitigate this risk of such an event the organizers, the public authorities and other institutions have prepared measures to provide the visitors with services needed.

How to find help during WYD?

What to do, if you have lost your documents?
How to find your consulate in Krakow?
Get out of any legal troubles you may find
Find your ancestors in Poland!

What to do, if you have lost your documents ?

If you lose your ID or other documents, you should rapport it promptly to the nearest Police station (call: 997 or 112) That will protect you from the unlawful use of your identity by an unauthorised person. It is also important that you receive from the Police the confirmation of a loss of documents. You may not be able to travel just with this confirmation, so you should apply for an emergency travel document at an embassy or a consular office of your country.

How to find your consulate in Krakow?

In Krakow you can find a number of consular offices: www.krakow-info.com/consul.htm
If there is none in Krakow, contact consular helpline
by e mail: informacja.konsularna@msz.gov.pl or phone +48 22 523 94 51 and they will direct you to the relevant office in Warsaw or other nearest city.
There are contact info to some Consular Offices and Honorary Consuls:

In case you will need the assistance of an attorney, the Krakow Bar Chamber has made a list of lawyers who can communicate in foreign languages http://adwokatura.krakow.pl/komunikat/pomoc-prawna-sdm

WHAT LexPolonia has to offer you ?

We are prepared and motivated to provide legal services to all foreigners. We speak languages. We are here for WYD 2016 in case you may need legal advice or representation.

Our offer is two folds:
First, we will help you get out of any legal troubles you may find yourself in during these busy days in Krakow. We understand that being in a foreign country, not speaking the language and participating in activities with hundreds of thousands others, in different locations may create many complications. Our job as lawyers is to help you understand the situation and find the best solution in the given circumstances.
It is clear that this week is all about WYD and you do not want to lose your time dealing with unexpected complications. Remember, there is only so much a lawyer can do, so try to stay safe, we really hope you will not need our help.

Find your ancestors in Poland

Second, do you have polish ancestors? We will be happy to meet and extend our services to all tourists with polish roots. If you wish you can use this opportunity of being in the country of your ancestors to find out more about the history of your family- we are here for you. Being in Poland is the best time to reconnect with your past. It may have plenty advantages like getting polish and European citizenship, getting an inheritance or a taken property back.

learn more about European Passport

LexPolonia provides genealogical services- even if you do not have much of information about your grandparents-do not give up. A piece of information, the name of the village, studies at a particular university or any other starting point may be enough to find out more. Maybe you still have relatives you don’t even know about. Some one needs to make the first step to reunite the family.
LexPolonia provides legal services to all those who want to take care of the inheritance issues. In the probate proceedings you can establish inheritance after many generations. In fact that is needed. Often families are stuck and do not bring the successions claims to the court, because in order to do this in Poland, you need to present the court with the list of all the heirs, also of those who emigrated out of Poland many years ago.

Learn more about Genealogy and search for inheritors

LexPolonia provide also legal services for those who want to claim their property back. Many times, especially in the more recent history, people were fleeing Poland after the II World War due to political reasons. After their emigration the State, governed back then by communist laws, would nationalized their property. Now, we have the rule of law again. But the longer you wait, the more difficult its gets. Even under the present law, if the rightful owner is absent for years, the state or other person can become the legal owner of the abandoned property. We believe that your visit to Poland is enough to convince you, that your family property left here is worth to be reclaimed.

Learn more about getting your property back

Finally, LexPolonia offers legal support in your application for the Polish citizenship. The law of the Republic of Poland grants the right to be recognized as a citizen for all those who can show that their ancestors were Polish and have not lost their citizenship. The procedure requires to provide the evidence of the Polish citizenship of the ancestor and the detailed history of the family. That is worth trying, because the Polish citizenship equals the European Union citizenship.

Learn more about Polish Citizenship

The last information is for those, who are not of Polish background. LexPolonia works closely with lawyers in other European states. We will be happy to help you in dealing with legal challenges in Europe. If we cannot provide the right services, we will refer you to lawyers that can.