Updated: 4.06.2024

Polish Citizenship – Key Methods of Acquisition

What are the benefits of a Polish passport?

Poland is an attractive place to live, offering a rich cultural polish heritage, a robust economy, and a high quality of life. Many people are interested in obtaining Polish citizenship, partly due to the strength of the Polish passport – ranked 6th in the world in 2024.

The Polish passport allows visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and all Schengen Area countries.

How many people are becoming Polish citizens each year?

In 2022, a total of 10,122 people obtained Polish citizenship (not including, of course, people who acquired citizenship by operation of law, e.g., by birth).

2,552 citizenships were granted by the President, 290 people obtained citizenship through restoration. The rest, 7280, acquired it through recognition.

Acquisition of Polish citizenship by birth or adoption

Acquisition of Polish citizenship by operation of law applies mainly to newborn children who meet one of the below criteria:

1. at least one of the child’s parents is a Polish citizen; or
2. the child was born in the territory of the Republic of Poland and their parents:
   • are unknown,
   • do not have any citizenship,
   • their citizenship is undefined; or
3. the child was found on the territory of the Republic of Poland and their parents are unknown; or
4. foreign child was adopted (full adoption) by a citizen of Poland before the age of 16.

Polish citizenship is acquired automatically by operation of law at the moment of birth / adoption.

Polish citizenship by residence

Formally, this method is referred to as “recognition as a Polish citizen”. It is available to foreigners who have been legally residing in Poland for quite a long time and, as a rule, have knowledge of the Polish language.

In accordance with Polish law, to be recognized as a Polish citizen, a foreigner must know Polish at the B1 level. Knowledge of Poland’s language is confirmed by a state examination, after which the foreigner receives an appropriate certificate.

Persons who have graduated from a school, post-secondary school or university in Poland or abroad, provided that the language of instruction was Polish, are exempt from the examination.

How to obtain Polish citizenship by residence?

There are seven alternative ways to acquire Polish citizenship through residence:

Citizenship by 3 years permanent residence in Poland

A foreigner can be recognized as a Polish citizen if he/she:

• has been residing in Poland continuously and legally for at least 3 years, on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident permit or the right of permanent residence,
• has a stable and regular source of income in Poland, and
• has a legal title to occupy residential premises.

Citizenship by marriage with Polish citizen

A foreigner can be recognized as a Polish citizen if he/she:

• has been residing in Poland continuously and legally for at least 2 years, on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident permit or the right of permanent residence,
• has been married to a Polish citizen for at least 3 years or does not have any citizenship,

Polish by residence and refugee status

A foreigner can be recognized as a Polish citizen if he/she:

• has been residing continuously and legally in Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit as a refugee obtained in Poland.

Polish citizenship for minors permanently residing in Poland

A minor foreigner can be recognized as a citizen of Poland if he/she:

• has been residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident permit or the right of permanent residence,
• one of his/her parents is a Polish citizen and
• the other parent, not having Polish citizenship, has consented to the recognition.

Polish citizenship for minors permanently residing in Poland / Option 2

A minor foreigner can be recognized as a Polish citizen if he/she:

• has been residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident permit or the right of permanent residence,
• Polish citizenship has been restored to at least one of his/her parents,
• the other parent, who does not have Polish citizenship, has consented to the recognition of the child as a Polish citizen.

Citizenship by 10 years residence in Poland

A foreigner can be recognized as a citizen of Poland if he/she:

• has been residing continuously and legally in the territory Republic of Poland for at least 10 years,
• has a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident permit or the right of permanent residence,
• has a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland, and
• has a legal title to occupy the residential premises in the Republic of Poland.

Citizenship for Poles cardholders

A foreigner can be recognized as a Polish citizen if he/she:

• has been residing in Poland continuously and legally for at least 1 year,
• has a permanent residence permit obtained due to Polish origin or the Pole’s Card.

Application and procedure

An application for recognition as a Polish citizen is submitted to the voivode competent for the place of residence of the applicant.

The voivode, before issuing the decision, requests the provincial police commander, the director of the Internal Security Agency branch, and, if necessary, other authorities, to provide information whether the recognition as a citizen of Poland does not threat to the defense or security of the state or the protection of public safety and order.

An appeal against the voivode’s decision may be lodged to the Minister of Interior and Administration.

Granting citizenship of Poland by the President of Poland

Granting citizenship is the constitutional prerogative of the Polish President, which means that the President is, in principle, not bound by any criteria.

The President may grant citizenship to any person, at his/her request, regardless of his/her previous citizenship, ties with Poland, knowledge of the Polish language or having a stable income. It is also not necessary to reside in Poland at the time of submitting the application for citizenship.

Who may be eligible for citizenship granted by the President?

Absence of criteria, does not mean that all applications submitted to the President will be accepted. In practice, the President grants Polish citizenship when the person applying for citizenship has special achievements, e.g., he/she is an outstanding scientist, sportsman, artist, specialist, and these achievements are related to Poland.

Moreover, people who have lived in Poland for a long time, have special ties with Poland and intend to stay in Poland permanently, e.g. family members of Polish citizens, also have a high chance of receiving citizenship from the President.

Citizenship application to President of Poland

The application for granting Polish citizenship should be submitted in person or by correspondence with an officially certified signature, via:

• Voivode – in case if a foreigner resides in Poland;
• Consul – in case of a foreigner residing abroad.

All documents shall be notarized or certified by the Polish consul. Foreign civil status documents shall be transcribed into Polish civil status registers.

Procedure and citizenship decision of the President

The voivode or consul forwards the application, along with their opinion, to the President via the minister responsible for internal affairs.

The minister, before submitting the application to the President, requests the Police Commander-In-Chief, the Head of the Internal Security Agency, and, if necessary, other authorities. They should provide information that may be of significant importance in the matter of granting Polish citizenship. He also prepares an opinion regarding application.

A foreigner acquires Polish citizenship on the day the President issues the decision on granting Polish nationality.

Restoration of Polish citizenship

The procedure for restoring citizenship was introduced as a result of a change in the social assessment of historical and political events and the application of an equity approach to the currently non-binding provisions of legal acts of the Second Republic of Poland and the Polish People’s Republic under which citizens of the Republic of Poland previously lost their Polish nationality.

Who may restore Polish citizenship?

The procedure for restoring citizenship applies to foreigners who, on various legal grounds, lost their citizenship by January 1, 1999. Such foreigners may restore Polish citizenship upon their request.

Who may not restore Polish citizenship?

Polish citizenship shall not be restored to a foreigner who:

1. voluntarily entered military service in the armies of the Axis States or their allies between September 1, 1939 and May 8, 1945;
2. accepted public office in the service of the Axis Powers or their allies in the period from September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945;
3. acted to the detriment of Poland, especially its independence and sovereignty, or participated in the violation of human rights,
4. constitutes a threat to the defense or security of the state or the protection of public safety and order.

Citizenship restoration – application and procedure

Polish citizenship is restored by the minister of internal affairs. A foreigner residing outside the territory of the Republic of Poland submits an application for the restoration of Polish citizenship through the consul competent for his/her place of residence.

The minister’s decision may be subject to a request for reconsideration of the case.

Polish citizenship by descent

Obtaining Polish citizenship by descent is legally not considered as “formal acquisition of the citizenship”. This is due to the fact that from a legal point of view the person having Polish ancestry is already a Polish citizen, and this fact – only requires formal confirmation.

Hence, this method is legally referred to as “Confirmation of Citizenship”. Due to this specific nature of acquisition of citizenship by ancestry it is presented in a separate guide: Polish Citizenship by Descent.

Key Legislation

The main legal acts governing Polish citizenship include:

• The Act on Polish Citizenship (April 2, 2009),
• The Polish Constitution (April 2, 1997),
• The Civil Status Records Act (November 28, 2014).

Interested in obtaining Polish citizenship?

Feel free to contact us. Our immigration law specialists will be happy to help you determine the right path to Polish citizenship, obtain appropriate documents and prepare an application to the competent authority.

FAQ – Acquiring Polish citizenship

Newborn child acquires Polish citizenship by birth to parents – if at least one of them is a Polish citizen, irrespective of whether the child was born in Poland or abroad.

Yes, but you need to be married to a Polish citizen for at least three years and reside in Poland for at least two years based on a permanent residence permit.

Can you acquire Polish citizenship if you lived in Poland continuously and legally for at least 3 years, on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident permit or the right of permanent residence.

The Polish passport is ranked 6th in the world for travel freedom, providing visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and all Schengen Area countries.

Yes, Poland permits dual citizenship. However, it’s essential to verify if your primary country of citizenship also allows dual citizenship, as some countries do not permit it. In such cases, you may need to choose which citizenship to retain.

There is no criteria for being granted citizenship by the Polish President, nonetheless special achievements, level of local investment or bonds with Poland are usually taken into account.