ForeignerDeck » How to acquire Polish citizenship?

WAYS OF ACQUIRING POLISH CITIZENSHIP

Polish citizenship may be acquired:

- by operation of law;

- by being granted Polish citizenship;

- by recognition as a Polish citizen;

- by restoration of Polish citizenship.

Dual citizenship:

A Polish citizen may hold Polish citizenship and citizenship of another country at the same time.

Where a person has dual citizenship - Polish and another country's citizenship - they have the same rights and obligations towards Poland as a person having only Polish citizenship. This means that such a person may not plead with the Polish authorities that he/she simultaneously has citizenship of another country and the rights and obligations arising from that citizenship, with legal effect.

A person applying for recognition, granting or restoration of Polish citizenship does not have to renounce his/her previous citizenship.

Before embarking on the procedure of applying for Polish citizenship, it is also worth finding out how the applicant's home country regulates the issue of dual citizenship. Some states do not recognise dual citizenship and when a person acquires citizenship of another country, he/she may automatically lose his/her previous citizenship. It is therefore advisable to find out about the regulation of dual citizenship in both states - Poland and the foreigner's country of origin.

Loss of citizenship:

The only way to lose Polish citizenship is to renounce it. The state itself cannot revoke an individual's citizenship. A Polish citizen may lose Polish citizenship only at his/her own request, after obtaining the consent of the President to renounce Polish citizenship.

An application for a consent to renounce Polish citizenship is submitted in person or by correspondence (with an officially certified signature) through a wojewoda or a consul.

The loss of Polish citizenship takes place after 30 days from the date of the decision of the President of the Republic of Poland, unless the President specifies a shorter period in the decision.

GRANTING CITIZENSHIP:

Polish citizenship is granted by the President of the Republic of Poland. In his decision, the President is not limited by any conditions that a foreigner has to fulfil in order to be granted Polish citizenship. This means that the President may grant Polish citizenship to any foreigner, regardless of - for example - how long they have been in Poland.

Note: The President of the Republic of Poland grants Polish citizenship or refuses to grant it in the form of a decision which does not require justification and is not subject to appeal. In matters of granting Polish citizenship, the provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure do not apply, except for the provisions concerning the service of correspondence.

PROCEDURE:

Polish citizenship is granted at the request of a foreigner. An application for Polish citizenship (with certain limitations, discussed below) is filed by persons legally residing in Poland with the President

through a Province Governor competent for the place of residence of the person concerned. If the foreigner resides abroad, the application should be submitted through the competent consul.

Note: If the foreigner stays in Poland on the basis of a visa or in visa-free regime, the application may only be submitted through the Polish consul competent for the place of permanent residence.

The application shall be submitted in person or by correspondence. Documents issued in a foreign language should be submitted together with their translation into Polish made by a sworn translator or by a consul of the Republic of Poland.

The application for Polish citizenship, together with additional information on the procedure, is available here: https://www.gov.pl/web/uw-mazowiecki/nadanie-obywatelstwa.

Good to know! The procedure for granting citizenship by the President may take a long time, as it does not have to be considered immediately (the provisions of the KPA do not apply here), as in the case of the procedure for recognition as a Polish citizen. An applicant for citizenship is obliged to justify his/her application and must present a substantial reason why Polish citizenship should be granted to him/her.