Polish citizenship – your chance to become an EU citizen
Polish passport is one of the most desirable documents among citizens from other states. And this is not surprising. Polish travel documents allow their owners to go to 163 countries without a visa. In addition, you can reside, work and do business in any state in the EU. Finally, the national legislation allows having two citizenships – of Poland and of another state.
Learn about other ways of obtaining Polish citizenship from our experts
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Ways to get Poland citizenship
There are several methods to obtain the passport.
1. By law.
You automatically get citizenship if one of your parents has citizenship of the Polish state. You are also considered a citizen if you were born in Poland but don’t know your mother and father or they are not citizens of any state. If an individual was adopted by a Pole before he or she turned sixteen, he becomes a citizen.
2. By recognition.
Any foreigner can request to be acknowledged as a citizen. However, a foreigner must have strong reasons to receive a positive decision. These are for example:
- The person has been constantly living in the country for the minimum of three years after being granted a permanent residence permit, plus they have stable earnings and a legal right to reside in a certain place.
- The person has been constantly living in Poland for the minimum period of two years after being granted a permanent residence permit on the basis of marriage to a Pole.
- He or she has been constantly living here for the minimum of two years and has a refugee status.
- The person is a child and one of his parents resides in Poland and has a passport of Poland. The person should held a permanent residence permit.
- He or she has been living here for the minimum of two years and can provide evidence that they held the permanent residence permit obtained based on Polish roots or Pole’s card.
3. By granting the citizenship.
The President of the state may decide to grant you the desired citizenship. An application should be filed to the Voivode.
4. By restoration of citizenship.
An individual who lost his citizenship before 1999, may request for its renewal. The procedure requires to submit an application and a certain set of documents, including those which prove the loss of citizenship. The documents should be sent to the Ministry of Interior or delivered to the Polish Consulate in your state.
Duration
Usually, the case is resolved immediately if all the documents provide enough evidence. If Polish authorities decide to conduct an investigation, your case will be reviewed within several months for voivodship procedure. However, there are cases when it takes longer for the authorities to process your documents.
Appeal and loss of citizenship
In case you are not satisfied with the answer, you have 14 days to file an appeal to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Above mentioned appeal is not applicable to the procedure of granting the citizenship.
According to the Constitution, an individual may refuse from citizenship only at his own desire. The State cannot take it for any reason.
No matter why you are willing to get the passport in Poland, it is real. With a proper legal advice, it is possible to gather the necessary documentation, prove your ties with the country and get the desired citizenship in the end.
