Granting Polish citizenship

You can obtain Polish citizenship if you meet strict conditions. A Polish citizen is considered to be:

1. a foreigner residing continuously in the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 3 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term European Union resident permit or the right of permanent residence, who has a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland and a legal title to occupy a residential premises ;
2. a foreigner residing continuously in the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a residence permit for a long-term resident of the European Union or the right of permanent residence, who:
3. has been married to a Polish citizen for at least 3 years or
4. does not have any citizenship;
5. a foreigner residing continuously in the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit obtained in connection with having refugee status granted in the Republic of Poland;
6. a minor foreigner staying in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term European Union resident permit or the right of permanent residence, whose one parent is a Polish citizen and the other parent, who does not have Polish citizenship, has consented to this recognition;
7. a minor foreigner staying in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term European Union resident permit or the right of permanent residence, whose Polish citizenship has been restored to at least one of the parents, and the other parent, not having Polish citizenship, has given consent for this recognition;
8. a foreigner residing continuously and legally in the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 10 years, who meets all of the following conditions:
9. has a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence,
10. has a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland and a legal title to occupy a residential premises;
11. a foreigner residing continuously in the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least one year on the basis of a permanent residence permit obtained due to Polish origin or the Pole's Card.

A foreigner applying for Polish citizenship, with the exception of the foreigner referred to in section 1 points 4 and 5 (minor foreigners who meet the conditions for recognition as Polish citizens) are obliged to have knowledge of the Polish language confirmed by an official certificate referred to in Art. 11a of the Act of October 7, 1999 on the Polish language, a school leaving certificate in the Republic of Poland or a school leaving certificate abroad with Polish as the language of instruction.

Recognition of a foreigner as a Polish citizen - Polish citizenship, takes place at his/her request, and in the case of a minor foreigner, at the request of his/her statutory representatives (In the absence of agreement between the statutory representatives, each of them may apply to the court for a decision).

The decision on recognition as a Polish citizen is made in the form of a decision of the voivode competent for the place of residence of the person to whom the proceedings concern.

Polish citizenship is granted in the form of a decision of the President of the Republic of Poland based on an application.

Polish citizenship also requires collecting documents such as:

1. application for granting Polish citizenship;

the application for granting Polish citizenship is submitted on a form, the template of which is specified in the provisions of the Regulation of the President of the Republic of Poland of August 7, 2012 on determining the form for the application for granting Polish citizenship, requirements regarding the photograph attached to the application and the template of the act of granting Polish citizenship and the notification of refusal to grant Polish citizenship;

2. a certified copy of all saved pages of the passport or travel document (original document available for inspection). The passport or travel document should be valid during the proceedings for granting Polish citizenship. Personal data in the applicant's documents should be uniform,
3. a certified copy of the residence card or certificate of registration of the residence of a European Union citizen - data regarding the applicant should be current,
4. original copies of: birth certificate and marriage certificate - issued by the Polish registry office. The data in the copies should be consistent, e.g. when the name "Anatol" is entered in the birth certificate and the name "Anatolij" in the marriage certificate - the content of the documents should be unified. Moreover, there cannot be any discrepancy in the content of the Applicant's personal data. To obtain a Polish copy of a birth or marriage certificate, please contact the registry office,
5. documents confirming information about sources of income in the Republic of Poland (e.g. employment contract, printout from CEIDG, PIT along with confirmation of submission to the Tax Office), and legal title to occupy the residential premises (e.g. lease agreement, lending agreement, extract of the deed notarial certificate, copy of the land and mortgage register), and professional achievements, political and social activities,
6. documents confirming information about parents and further ascendants, if they were Polish citizens,
7. documents confirming the applicant's possession of Polish citizenship in the past, its loss and the date of acquiring citizenship of another country,
8. current biometric photograph of the person(s) covered by the application. The photograph should be in color, measuring 4.5 x 3.5 cm, taken within the last 6 months on a uniform, light background, with good sharpness and clearly showing the eyes and face from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, so that the face covers 70-80 % of photos. The photograph is to show a person without a headgear or glasses with dark lenses, looking straight ahead with open eyes, unobstructed hair, natural facial expression and closed mouth. A person with congenital or acquired vision defects may attach to the application a photograph showing him or her wearing glasses with dark lenses, and a person wearing a headgear in accordance with the principles of his or her religion - a photograph showing him or her wearing a headgear. The headgear must not cover or distort the shape of the face,
9. if married - a copy of the spouse's identity document.
10. a certified copy of the decision allowing residence in Poland.

To sum up, a foreigner, Polish citizenship requires meeting at least one of the following conditions:

1. condition:

• has been legally residing in Poland for at least 3 years, without interruption, on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a residence permit for a long-term resident of the European Union or the right of permanent residence,
• has a stable and regular source of income in Poland,
• has the right to occupy a residential premises,

2. condition:

• has been residing in Poland continuously and legally for at least 2 years, on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence,
• has been married to a Polish citizen for at least 3 years or does not have any citizenship,

3. condition: he has resided continuously and legally in Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permit he obtained in Poland as a refugee,

4. condition:

• is under 18 years old,
• legally resides in Poland, on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or permanent residence permit,
• one of the parents has Polish citizenship,
• the other parent agreed to recognize the child as a Polish citizen,

5. condition:

• is under 18 years old,
• legally resides in Poland, on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or permanent residence permit,
• Polish citizenship has been restored to at least one of his parents,
• the other parent, if he does not have Polish citizenship, has consented to the recognition of the child as a Polish citizen,

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6. condition:

• has been continuously and legally residing in Poland for at least 10 years;
• has a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence,
• has a stable and regular source of income in Poland and a legal title to occupy a residential premises;

7. condition:

• Has stayed in Poland continuously and legally for at least 1 year;
• Has a permanent residence permit obtained due to Polish origin or the Pole's Card.

Remember! To be recognized as a Polish citizen, you must know Polish at the B1 level - you need official confirmation.

The voivode may refuse to recognize a person as a Polish citizen if this would constitute a threat to the defense or security of the state or the protection of public safety and order.

In the case of a negative decision, if you do not agree with the voivode's decision, you can appeal to the Minister of Interior and Administration (MSWiA). Below you will find the address:

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration

Stefana Batorego 5, 02-591 Warszawa

You should do this in writing, within 14 days of receiving the decision. You can submit an appeal in person at the office or by post.

If you also do not agree with the decision of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, you have the right to appeal against it to an administrative court. You should do this within 30 days of receiving the minister's decision. Also submit a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Interior and Administration.

Recognition as a Polish citizen and children - if you are recognized as a Polish citizen, your children who are under 18 years of age also receive Polish citizenship.

If the child is over 16 years old, he or she must consent to acquiring Polish citizenship. This can only be done in person before an employee of the voivodeship office or a consul.