For people of Polish descent, applying for Polish citizenship is a natural thought. Doing so recognizes your roots, grants you access to Poland and the EU, and greatly enhances your options in life.
There are a number of ways to apply for Polish citizenship. However, it never hurts to have some legal experts on your side. The Polish citizenship act has been updated numerous times, most notably in 1920, 1951, 1962 and 2009. Whilst complicated, this also outlines a number of approaches on how to get Polish citizenship, and we can advise you on the options at your disposal.
So if you’re wondering how to get Polish citizenship, this guide covers the different ways to become a Polish citizen, the benefits of doing so, and how to get started.
Benefits of Polish citizenship
Other than recognizing your ancestry and Polish roots, Polish citizenship offers many advantages. As an EU citizen, you have the right to live, work and travel across the European Union. This gives you visa-free access to 27 countries, whilst a Polish passport also provides much more global access, too.
We should also note that dual citizenship is entirely possible. Poland does not require you to give up an existing citizenship status. The only requirement for dual citizenship is that Polish citizens use their Polish documents when dealing with the Polish authorities. For example, you must use your Polish passport when entering or exiting Poland.
How does Poland define a Polish Citizen?
Naturally, people born in Poland to at least one parent with Polish citizenship qualify as Polish citizens. However, the Polish authorities also have a number of ways for foreigners to obtain Polish citizenship, each with well defined criteria.
Polish citizenship by naturalization
Poland, as part of the European Union, supports the freedom of movement for EU citizens. Likewise, people from countries outside of the EU may also apply to work and live in the country. For all of these, Polish citizenship law covers a process of naturalization. This refers to individuals who do not currently have Polish citizenship and wish to become one.
The Polish government outlines the key criteria for naturalization. In short:
- You must be over 18 with either a permanent residence permit, EU long-term residence permit or another right of permanent residence.
- You must have lived in Poland for 3 or more years.
- You must have a regular and stable source of income. In other words, you need to be earning (whether through a job or via owning your own company) and this income must be registered in Poland for the purposes of taxes.
- You must have the right to occupy a dwelling unit – in other words, you are legally able to rent or own property for the purposes of living.
There is also an alternative list of criteria that requires you to have lived legally in Poland for 10 or more years, along with a residence permit and a stable source of income. However, in either option, it’s important to note that you must speak Polish. Specifically, you need official confirmation that you speak the Polish language at a level of B1 or higher.
Since this form of Polish citizenship requires you to live in Poland, applications are done through the local Polish authorities of your Voivodeship.
What about under 18s?
It should be noted that Polish citizenship law does enable under 18s to apply. However, this requires a legal form of residence and official consent from both parents: one of which must be a Polish citizen already.
Polish citizenship via marriage
If you marry a Polish citizen, it’s possible to apply for Polish citizenship as a result. However, simply marrying an existing citizen is not enough:
- You must have resided legally in Poland for 2 or more years, based on a permanent residence permit, EU long-term residence permit or another right of permanent residence.
- You must have been married to your partner for 3 or more years.
- You must have official confirmation that you speak Polish at a level of B1 or higher.
In short, acquiring Polish citizenship via marriage is similar to naturalization. The only significant difference is that you do not need to prove a regular form of income. Instead, you need to have 3 or more years or marriage to a Polish citizen. Nonetheless, you must still also speak Polish and apply through your local Voivodeship in Poland.
Polish citizenship by adoption
Poland also supports Polish citizenship for adopted children. If one or more of their parents is a Polish citizen, and the adoption is fully legalized when the child turns 16, then they automatically inherit their citizenship status. In fact, Poland considers this a de facto right and does not distinguish between adopted and non-adopted children at this point: they are all Polish citizens.
Polish citizenship via refugee status
It’s also possible to apply for Polish citizenship as a refugee. This requires an official residence permit, recognized refugee status in Poland and 2 or more years’ residence in the country. We’re mentioning it here purely for completeness.
Polish citizenship by descent
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you can also apply for Polish citizenship by descent. With some 20 million people in the world with Polish ancestry, this is a popular approach for Polish people living outside of the country.
In this case, you do not need to reside in Poland, you do not need a residence permit and you do not need to speak Polish. Under Polish law, if you can both prove your Polish heritage and show that your ancestors did not lose their Polish citizenship along the way, then you are considered Polish from birth.
Can You Also Get a Polish Passport?
With visa-free access to over 155 countries, as well as aiding your freedom of movement across the European Union, a Polish passport is one of the most desirable in the world. After you obtain Polish citizenship, it’s natural to think about your Polish passport application.
Fortunately, every Polish citizen is able to apply for a Polish passport. Doing so is merely a formality. You will need to have some documents created, such as a Polish version of your birth certificate. However, the application process for Polish citizenship requires translated copies of such documents, so you can often streamline this process with our help. We will prepare a package of the necessary documents, which you can then give to your local Polish consulate to obtain your Polish passport.
On that note, since a Polish passport can be applied for via your local Polish consulate, it’s worth noting that this process will also see you issued with a PESEL – the Polish equivalent to a social security number.
Obtaining Polish Citizenship by Descent
In our opinion, applying for Polish citizenship by descent is the best approach. It has less requirements on you personally, and is simply a process for recognizing what is already true. When choosing between different options, citizenship by descent has many strong advantages.
For example, applying for Polish citizenship by naturalization requires you to both live in Poland and speak Polish: it also requires you to have a Polish citizen as a parent. However, when acquiring Polish citizenship by descent, the process focuses more on proving your right of blood, and does not focus on your ability to speak Polish or live in the country. Therefore, in our opinion, it is often the best path for obtaining Polish citizenship.
What you do need to prove, however, is that you have a Polish ancestor that:
- Live in Poland at some point in 1920 or later
- Was a Polish citizen
- Never lost their citizenship status
This is of course an over simplification, but the application process will involve proving your direct blood relation to this individual, ensuring your own eligibility. This can be done via your local Polish consulate, which will then send all your documents to be processed by the Polish authorities in Warsaw.
However, we should emphasize that this approach can require a lot of documents, and you will need to deal with local regional authorities here in Poland. What’s more, the final application must be sent in Polish. These are just a few of the reasons why we recommend working with legal experts who not only understand this process, but understand the wider requirements of the Polish citizenship act. Doing so will ensure your application is correct.
Want to get started?
If you wanted to know how to get Polish citizenship, we hope this guide showed you the many options. In our opinion, citizenship by descent is always the best option if you can trace your ancestry back to polish citizenship. If you’re not sure, you can take our free quiz right now to find out!
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