Application to establish child contact arrangements in Poland – template with interim relief

Contact with a child is one of the most fundamental parental rights – and one of the most common sources of conflict after separation. If the other parent is obstructing contact, there is no need to wait for a final judgment. Polish law provides a mechanism for regulating contact immediately, while proceedings are still ongoing, through an application for interim measures. Below is an explanation of the procedure and a ready-to-use template application.

Table of contents

1. What is the right to contact with a child under Polish law?
2. When is a formal application to establish contact arrangements needed?
3. What is interim contact relief and when should it be sought?
4. Which court handles the application and what does it cost?
5. Template application to establish contact with interim relief
6. What to write in the statement of reasons
7. FAQ

What is the right to contact with a child under Polish law?

Under Article 113 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code (Kodeks rodzinny i opiekuńczy), regardless of parental authority, both parents and the child have the right and the obligation to maintain contact with each other. This right belongs to every parent – including one who does not exercise day-to-day care of the child and whose parental authority has been restricted.

Contact encompasses personal meetings, taking the child away from their place of permanent residence, and direct communication – telephone calls, video calls, and correspondence (Article 113 § 2 of the Family and Guardianship Code). The court may regulate each of these elements, tailoring the contact arrangements to the child’s age, needs, and the practical circumstances of both parents.

When is a formal application to establish contact arrangements needed?

A formal application is needed where the parents cannot reach agreement on the manner and schedule of contact, or where one parent is actively preventing the other from seeing the child. Without a court order regulating contact, there is no enforceable basis for insisting on visits.

The case may be brought as a standalone application in non-contentious proceedings (postępowanie nieprocesowe) before the district court, or – where divorce proceedings are already underway – as part of those proceedings before the regional court. Which route applies depends on whether a divorce case is pending.

What is interim contact relief and when should it be sought?

Interim contact relief is an application submitted together with the main application to establish contact, which allows the court to provisionally regulate contact while the main proceedings are still ongoing – before a final order is made. The legal basis is Articles 730 § 1 and 755 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Kodeks postępowania cywilnego).

Proceedings to establish contact can take anywhere from several months to a year. Without interim relief, a parent who does not have day-to-day care of the child may effectively be denied any contact for the entire duration of those proceedings. An interim relief application addresses this directly – the court considers it on an expedited basis, typically without conducting full evidence proceedings.

Interim relief is granted for the duration of the main proceedings and ceases when the final order becomes final and binding. The contact schedule in an interim order is generally narrower than the final arrangement sought – it covers the basic visit schedule without the more elaborate holiday and public holiday provisions.

In our experience, an interim relief application is worth including whenever there is a realistic risk that the other parent will block contact during the proceedings.

Which court handles the application and what does it cost?

The application is filed with the family and juvenile division of the district court (sąd rejonowy, wydział rodzinny i nieletnich) for the district in which the child is habitually resident or has their place of ordinary residence. The exception is where a divorce case is already pending – in that case, the regional court (sąd okręgowy) handling the divorce has jurisdiction.

For residents of Poznań, the relevant court depends on the child’s exact address: it may be the Poznań-Stare Miasto District Court, the Poznań-Grunwald i Jeżyce District Court, or the Poznań-Nowe Miasto i Wilda District Court.

The court fee for the application is PLN 100, payable at the court cashier’s office or by bank transfer to the account indicated on the court’s website.

Template application to establish contact with interim relief

Poznań, _____________ [date]

District Court Poznań-Stare Miasto in Poznań Family and Juvenile Division IV ul. Młyńska 1a 61-729 Poznań

Applicant: (full name) residing at: _______________________________ PESEL: _____________________________

Participant: (full name) residing at: _______________________________ PESEL: _____________________________

Court fee: PLN 100

Application to establish contact arrangements with interim relief

Acting on my own behalf, I apply for:

1. Regulation of contact between the applicant (full name) – father/mother of the minor (child’s full name), born on _____________ in _____________, and the minor child of the parties, by ordering that contact shall take place away from the child’s place of permanent residence on the following schedule:

   • on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 15:00 to 20:00;
   • on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month from 09:00 to 15:00;
   • on the first day of Christmas and Easter in odd-numbered years;
   • on the second day of Christmas and Easter in even-numbered years, with all holiday visits running from 11:00 to 18:00;
   • during the period 1–31 August each year;
   • with the right to telephone contact and contact via video call (Skype, WhatsApp) every Wednesday and Friday between 16:00 and 18:30; with the applicant being required to collect the child at the start of each contact period and return them to the participant’s place of residence at the end;

2. Admission of evidence from the examination of the parties – for the purpose of establishing the bond between the applicant and the child, the applicant’s parenting capacity, and the participant’s conduct in obstructing contact;

3. Admission of evidence from the testimony of the following witness:

   • (full name), residing at _____________ – to give evidence as to the bond between the applicant and the child and the participant’s obstruction of contact;

4. Interim relief by way of provisional regulation of contact between the applicant (full name) and the minor (child’s full name) for the duration of the proceedings, on the following terms:

   • on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 15:00 to 20:00;
   • on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month from 09:00 to 15:00;

5. An order that the participant pay the applicant’s costs of the proceedings in accordance with the applicable scales.

Statement of reasons

(The statement of reasons should set out: why contact is not currently taking place or why it requires formal regulation; the child’s age and their emotional bond with the applicant; the proposed contact schedule and the reasons for it; the specific circumstances in which the participant has been obstructing or preventing contact, with dates and details. Where interim relief is sought, the reasons why immediate provisional regulation is necessary should be explained.)

(signature of the applicant)

Attachments:

• copy of the application and attachments (for service on the participant);
• proof of payment of the court fee;
• abbreviated certified copy of the child’s birth certificate (skrócony odpis aktu urodzenia);
• any other documents referred to in the body of the application.

What to write in the statement of reasons

The statement of reasons is the most important part of the application – particularly where interim relief is also sought. For interim relief, the court must be satisfied that the right to contact is credibly established (uprawdopodobnienie roszczenia) and that there is a genuine interest in granting provisional protection – meaning a real risk that without interim relief contact will continue to be blocked.

The statement of reasons should include: a description of the applicant’s relationship with the child and the history of contact to date; specific dates and circumstances in which contact was prevented or obstructed; the reasons why the proposed schedule is appropriate for the child; and – where interim relief is sought – an explanation of why provisional regulation of contact is needed immediately, without waiting for the final order.

FAQ

Are the main application and the interim relief application two separate documents? No. The interim relief application is submitted as part of the main application to establish contact – it is included within the same document. The court deals with the interim relief application separately and more quickly than the main application.

How quickly will the court deal with the interim relief application? An interim relief application should be dealt with without delay. In practice, courts typically issue an interim contact order within a few weeks of the application being filed. The order is temporary and remains in force until the final contact order becomes final and binding.

Do I need a lawyer to submit the application? There is no legal requirement to have a lawyer. Non-contentious proceedings do not require legal representation, and the template in this article can serve as a starting point. In more complex cases – where contact is being systematically blocked or the participant actively contests the application – the assistance of a lawyer is strongly advisable.

What if the participant fails to comply with the interim contact order? Breach of an interim contact order can form the basis for enforcement proceedings under Article 598¹⁵ of the Code of Civil Procedure. The court may order the person breaching the order to pay a specified sum for each instance of non-compliance.

Can contact arrangements be agreed without court proceedings? Yes. The parents can conclude a settlement on contact arrangements before a mediator or before the court. A settlement approved by the court has the same force as a court order and can be enforced in the same way.

I am a foreign national – does this procedure apply to me? Yes. Where the child is habitually resident in Poland, Polish courts have jurisdiction over contact matters and the procedure described in this article applies regardless of the parents’ nationality. All documents submitted to a Polish court must be in Polish; documents in other languages require a sworn translation. Where one parent lives outside Poland, enforcement of a Polish contact order abroad may raise additional practical questions depending on the country involved.

What is the difference between establishing contact and varying an existing contact order? An application to establish contact is used where no court order currently exists. Where a contact order has already been made and circumstances have changed, the appropriate route is an application to vary the existing order under Article 113⁵ of the Family and Guardianship Code. The procedure is similar, but the statement of reasons must demonstrate that a change in circumstances justifies amending the current arrangement.

Want to establish contact arrangements with your child or need interim relief urgently? Call: +48 531 335 713 or email: kancelaria@prawnikodrozwodu.pl

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every family law case is individual and requires analysis of the specific facts and documents involved. The law firm accepts no liability for actions taken on the basis of the information contained in this article. For advice tailored to your situation, please contact our office.

Kancelaria Prawa Rodzinnego (Family Law Office): Adwokat Michalina Koligot, Adwokat Marta Krzyżanowicz, Adwokat Anna Konrady, Radca prawny Joanna Jędrzejewska ul. Mickiewicza 18a/3, 60-834 Poznań | tel. +48 531 335 713 | kancelaria@prawnikodrozwodu.pl | www.prawnikodrozwodu.pl