How long the card is valid
- The Pole's Card is valid for 10 years from the day it is granted (Art. 17 para. 1 of the Pole's Card Act).
- A card granted to a person who has reached the age of 65 is valid for an indefinite period (Art. 17 para. 2a).
- A child's card is valid for 10 years, but no longer than one year from the day the child became an adult (Art. 17 para. 3).
Extension
At your request, the validity of the card is extended by another 10 years. You can submit the application at the earliest 6 months before the card expires (Art. 17 para. 2). The extension is free of charge (Art. 12 para. 3).
An adult holder of a card granted in childhood applies for an extension no later than 3 months before it ends and signs the declaration of belonging to the Polish Nation (Art. 17 para. 4).
Change of data, loss, damage
If the data on the card have changed (e.g. surname), you get a new card on the basis of civil status documents (Art. 17 para. 6). When the card is lost or destroyed, the consul or voivode issues a duplicate (Art. 18 para. 4). The new card and the duplicate are valid for 10 years (Art. 17 para. 7).
When the card loses validity
The card loses validity by law when you get a permanent residence permit or Polish citizenship (Art. 20 para. 1a). You return it to the voivode within 14 days of the day the permanent residence decision became final or the document on the acquisition of citizenship was delivered to you (Art. 20 para. 3).
The consul or voivode invalidates the card, among other things, after you renounce it, because of false data in the application or for security reasons (Art. 20 para. 1).