Right of Blood (Jus sanguinis) is one of two most popular nationality law systems in the world. It is quite important to know it, as it is the key rule for certifying the Polish Citizenship.
Why Polish nationality law is good for you?
Right of blood has its benefits, especially if you were born outside Poland. First of all, Polish Citizenship is not determined by place of birth. You aquire it by having one or both parents who are citizens of the state. Furthermore, if any other of the ancestors in your line of direct kinship were Polish you can also claim your right to certify your Citizenship. Of course, you need to prove it. This is when vital records become essential. They recreate the line of descent, and therefore the right to officially confirm your Polish citizenship.
You can read more about proving kinship with vital records here.
So why Polish birth certificate is not enough?
In countries like the US, Canada, Brazil or a few other countries, you are born under Jus Soli. You get your citizenship because you were born on the country’s territory. It happens despite the fact your parents had different citizenships than the local ones!
Was I born under right of blood or soil?
So what the birth certificate actually proves? It states where you were born and provides the data regarding your parents. It doesn’t actually bring any information of your right for Polish Citizenship! If you were born in Mexico, your parents would have to go through a procedure of certifying your citizenship.
Right of blood is historically more rational for Polish Citizenship
Right of blood is all about kinship. This type of nationality law can be traced back in history even to tribal laws. In the past, when humans lived only partially sedentary life, borders were not as marked as today. Therefore, family ties and tribal ties were more important. In modern times, having at least one parent who is a citizen of the state determines the citizenship based on right of blood. However, in Polish legal system there is a small complementary element taken from ius soli – if a child is born on Polish territory and does not acquire any other nationality, automatically it acquires the Polish.
The devil is in the detail!
Right of blood can sometimes not be enough to get Polish citizenship. There can be situations from your or your ancestors’ past that will influence your rights. For example, if your ancestor served in foreign army, or renounced Polish Citizenship you wouldn’t be eligible. Therefore, if you want to be absolutely sure whether you are eligible or not, take our free eligibility test. We will check it for you!
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[…] Some of you may be quite puzzled why is the birth certificate is not sufficient to get a citizenship? It is because Polish legal system is based on right of blood, which means that the citizenship is not determined by place of birth but by having one or both ancestors who are Polish citizens. You can read more about it in our article Getting Polish Citizenship through Right of Blood (Jus sanguinis) […]
[…] law in Poland that is based in the right of blood (jus sanguinis), which we already covered here. It works in your favor, because even though you weren’t born in Poland, you are technically […]
[…] We are addressing this article to the descendants of Polish citizens that came to Great Britain between the beginning of the thirties and the end of ninetees. Today Poles are the second minority in the UK, but just imagine that in September 1939 there were only 3500 of Polish emigrants in Great Britain. It was the horror of WW2 that led to a dramatic increase in the numbers of dislocated Poles. Finally, after the war, the population reached 157 300, out of which 30 000 lived in London. They’ve blended quite well into British society. However, what you have to know is that if any of your grandparents or other ancestors was Polish, you also have Polish Citizenship, and you just have to confirm it. It is possible due to the right of blood (if you’re interested, we’ve written more about it here). […]