Polish citizenship for a foreigner

Current Polish law - the Act of April 2, 2009 on Polish citizenship, lists four ways of acquiring Polish citizenship: by the power of law, by granting Polish citizenship, by recognition as a Polish citizen and by restoration of Polish citizenship.

Polish citizenship is acquired by operation of law by children (in the law "minors," i.e., persons under 18 years of age) and repatriates:

1. a child acquires Polish citizenship by birth if at least one parent is a Polish citizen;
2. a child acquires Polish citizenship by birth if he or she was born on Polish territory and his or her parents are unknown, have no citizenship or their citizenship is undetermined;
3. a child who is found in the territory of Poland and his parents are unknown;
4. a child under 16 years of age acquires Polish citizenship through adoption by a Polish citizen, in which case the child is considered to have acquired Polish citizenship with the date of birth.
5. by repatriation - this is a special way for foreigners with Polish ancestors - descendants of the former Republic, victims of communist terror, violently displaced and forced to live in the areas of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Acquisition of Polish citizenship by repatriation is regulated by the Repatriation Act of November 9, 2000.

The President of the Republic of Poland may grant Polish citizenship to any foreigner. If the foreigner lives permanently in Poland - he/she files an application for Polish citizenship through the voivode. If he/she lives outside Poland - the application for Polish citizenship is filed through a Polish consul. The application for granting Polish citizenship, with its opinion, is forwarded by the voivode or consul to the minister of internal affairs, who also gives his opinion on the application and forwards it to the President of Poland for consideration.

The President of the Republic of Poland grants Polish citizenship or refuses to grant it in the form of a resolution. A foreigner, through a voivode or consul, receives an act of granting Polish citizenship or a notice of refusal to grant Polish citizenship.

A foreigner living in Poland who meets the conditions set forth in the Act may apply for recognition as a Polish citizen. To do so, he or she must submit an application for recognition as a Polish citizen to the voivode with jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. This voivode issues a decision on recognition of the foreigner as a Polish citizen.

The conditions that a foreigner must meet are: uninterrupted residence on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a residence permit for a long-term EU resident or the right of permanent residence; a stable and regular source of income in Poland; the legal title to occupy a dwelling; knowledge of the Polish language. The required length of uninterrupted residence varies, depending on the circumstances, such as marriage to a Polish citizen, lack of citizenship, the basis for issuing a residence permit.

If a foreigner lost Polish citizenship before January 1, 1999 due to past laws, he/she may apply for restoration of Polish citizenship. A foreigner living in Poland submits the application directly to the Minister of Internal Affairs, and a foreigner living abroad submits the application through a consul. The minister restores Polish citizenship by decision.

As indicated in the above article, there are several ways to apply for Polish citizenship, and choosing the most effective one is one of the biggest challenges foreigners face. Due to the fact that the founder of the Kancelaria do spraw Obywatelskich worked for many years in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland and professionally dealt with foreigners' applications for Polish citizenship (she was giving recommendations to the Polish President on granting or denying Polish citizenship), we have unique knowledge that no other firm helping foreigners in Poland has. Contact us and we will suggest how to increase your chances of getting a Polish passport!