Ways of obtaining Polish citizenship

 The methods of obtaining Polish citizenship are regulated by the Act of 2 April 2009 on Polish citizenship. Citizenship may be obtained by operation of law or by submitting an application for recognition as a Polish citizen or as a result of granting Polish citizenship by the President of the Republic of Poland. How are these methods different and what conditions must be met?

 Obtaining citizenship by operation of law

Obtaining citizenship by operation of law takes place by birth, if at least one of the parents is a Polish citizen. It is also possible if the child was born on the territory of Poland and his parents are unknown, don’t have any citizenship or their citizenship is undefined. Minors will also obtain Polish citizenship if they are found in Poland and their parents are unknown. Another situation concerns a minor foreigner adopted by a person or persons having Polish citizenship, if the full adoption took place before the age of 16. In this case, it is assumed that the minor foreigner obtained Polish citizenship on the day of birth.

 Recognition as a Polish citizen

The application for recognition as a Polish citizen is submitted to the provincial governor (wojewoda) competent for the place of residence. First of all, it is necessary to check whether the conditions specified in the legal provisions have been met. Recognition as a Polish citizen is possible in the case of:

• 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 resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence, who has a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland and the legal title to occupy a dwelling;
• 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 long-term resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence, who:

1. has been married to a Polish citizen for at least 3 years or
2. doesn’t have any citizenship;

• a foreigner residing continuously on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit, which he obtained in connection with the refugee status granted in the Republic of Poland;
• a minor foreigner residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence, one of the parents is a Polish citizen, and the other parent, who does not have Polish citizenship, has consented to this recognition;
• a minor foreigner residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence, whose at least one of the parents has been restored Polish citizenship, and the other parent, who does not have Polish citizenship, consented to it recognition;
• a foreigner residing continuously and legally on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 10 years, who meets all of the following conditions:

1. has a permanent residence permit, a long-term resident's European Union residence permit or the right of permanent residence,
2. has a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland and the legal title to occupy a dwelling;

• a foreigner residing continuously on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least one year on the basis of a permanent residence permit, which he obtained in connection with his Polish origin or with the Pole's Card.

How is the term continuously residing to be understood? According to the definition included in the Act on foreigners, the stay is considered uninterrupted if none of the breaks in it was longer than 6 months and all breaks didn’t exceed 10 months in total, unless the break was caused by:

• the foreigner's performance of professional duties or the provision of work outside the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of an agreement concluded with an employer whose seat is in the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
• accompanying the foreigner referred to in point 1 by his spouse or minor child, or
• a special personal situation requiring the foreigner's presence outside the territory of the Republic of Poland and lasted no longer than 6 months, or
• leaving the territory of the Republic of Poland in order to undergo internships or participate in classes provided for in the course of studies at a Polish university.

A foreigner applying for recognition as a Polish citizen, with the exception of the minors mentioned in points 4 and 5, is obliged to have knowledge of the Polish language confirmed by an official language proficiency certificate at the level of at least B1 or a school leaving certificate in Poland or a school leaving certificate abroad with the language of instruction Polish.

The application for recognition as a Polish citizen should be made in Polish on an officially specified form. The application contains, inter alia, information about the foreigner's sources of income in the Republic of Poland and the occupied premises. It also contains information about professional achievements, political and social activities. In addition, the application should include the spouse's data and information whether the foreigner applied for Polish citizenship in the past and whether he had Polish citizenship. You should also write a justification and attach the following documents:

• an extract of a birth certificate issued by the Polish Registry Office on the basis of Polish civil registry books (prior registration of a foreign birth certificate in the Polish registry of civil status is required),
• an extract of the marriage certificate - not older than 3 months - issued by the Polish Registry Office on the basis of Polish registry books, if you are or have been married. If the marriage ceased as a result of divorce, attach an extract of the marriage certificate mentioning the divorce; and if the marriage ceased as a result of the spouse's death, an extract of the marriage certificate should be presented with a reference to this fact,
• a copy of the passport,
• a copy of a valid residence card,
• a copy of the decision permitting permanent residence in Poland, settlement or long-term resident's EU residence,
• official confirmation of the knowledge of the Polish language, i.e. a school leaving certificate in Poland or a school leaving certificate abroad with Polish as the language of instruction or a certificate issued by the State Commission for the Certification of Proficiency in Polish as a Foreign Language at a language proficiency level of at least B1,
• a statement on the dates of departures from Poland and returns and places of stay abroad,
• a certified copy of the page of a valid passport of a foreign spouse with personal data, a travel document or an ID card confirming the spouse's identity and citizenship,
• a written declaration of the spouse on the consent to provide a copy of the spouse's valid identity document for the purposes of the procedure for recognition as a Polish citizen,
• documents confirming stable and regular sources of income in Poland (e.g. a certificate of employment with the amount of remuneration together with an employment contract and tax declaration PIT for the previous year);
• a document confirming the possession of a legal title to occupy a dwelling (e.g. a tenancy agreement),
• a copy of the decision to issue the Pole's Card, if you are the holder of this document.
• proof of payment of the fee in the amount of PLN 219.

A foreigner is refused to be recognized as a Polish citizen if he doesn’t meet the requirements set out above or if it is found in the course of the proceedings that the acquisition of Polish citizenship is a threat to the defense or security of the state or the protection of public safety and order.

 Granting Polish citizenship

Granting Polish citizenship is made by the President of the Republic of Poland at the request of the foreigner. The president isn’t limited by any conditions and may grant Polish citizenship to any foreigner, no matter how long he or she has been in Poland. The president grants citizenship or refuses to grant it in the form of a decision that doesn’t require justification and isn’t subject to appeal. There are no formal conditions to be met by a foreigner to obtain Polish citizenship under this procedure. However, as practice shows, citizenship is granted in this way only in special cases.

The application includes, inter alia: information about the foreigner's parents and further ascendants, if they had Polish citizenship, information about the possession of Polish citizenship in the past, its loss and the date of acquisition of citizenship of another country. In addition, it contains information on the foreigner's sources of income, professional achievements, political and social activities, as well as information on the foreigner's knowledge of the Polish language. Provide the spouse's details and information whether you applied for Polish citizenship in the past. A justification is also necessary. The application should be accompanied by photographs and documents confirming the data contained in the application. The application for granting Polish citizenship is submitted through the provincial governor (wojewoda) competent for the place of residence or, in the case of persons residing abroad, through the consul, in person or by correspondence with an officially certified signature. The provincial governor and the consul submit to the President, through the minister responsible for internal affairs, the application for granting Polish citizenship along with attachments and their own opinion. The president grants Polish citizenship or refuses to grant it in the form of a decision.