Recognition as a Polish citizen

A foreigner may be recognized a Polish citizen.

The following are considered Polish citizens:

1. A foreigner who has been continuously residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 3 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident's residence permit or the right of permanent residence, with a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland and the legal title to occupy residential premises;
2. A foreigner who has been continuously residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident's residence permit or the right of permanent residence, who

• has been married for at least 3 years to a Polish citizen or
• does not have any nationality;

3. A foreigner who has been continuously residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit obtained in connection with the refugee status granted in the Republic of Poland;
4. A minor foreigner residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident's residence permit or the right of permanent residence, one of whose parents is a Polish citizen, and the other parent, who does not have Polish citizenship, has consented to the recognition;
5. A minor foreigner residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident's 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 the recognition;
6. A foreigner who has been residing legally and continuously on the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 10 years, who jointly meets the following conditions:

• has a permanent residence permit, a long-term EU resident's residence permit or the right of permanent residence,
• has a stable and regular source of income in the Republic of Poland and the legal title to occupy residential premises;

Note! Contrary to point 1, in such a case, it is not specified on what basis the foreigner should stay in Poland for at least 10 years. It can even be a visa or a temporary residence card. This means that at the time of submitting the application for recognition as a Polish citizen, the foreigner must have a permanent residence permit or a long-term EU resident's residence permit. For example: the person stayed legally and continuously in Poland for 9 years on the basis of temporary residence cards; after 9 years, they received a long-term EU resident's card and stayed in Poland for 1 year - in such a case, they may apply for recognition as a Polish citizen in accordance with point 6 and provided that they meet the other requirements.

7. A foreigner who has been continuously residing on the territory of Poland for at least 1 year on the basis of a permanent residence permit obtained in connection with their Polish origin or with the Pole's Card.

PROCEDURE

Recognition as a Polish citizen takes place at the request of the person concerned. The application for recognition as a Polish citizen is submitted to the voivode competent for the place of actual residence of the foreigner (i.e. the place where the centre of the foreigner's vital interests is concentrated).

The decision on the recognition of a foreigner as a Polish citizen is issued by the voivode competent for the place of residence of the person concerned.

Note! If the application for recognition of a foreigner as a Polish citizen has been submitted at the time when the proceedings for granting Polish citizenship are pending, the proceedings for recognition as a Polish citizen are discontinued.

DOCUMENTS

A foreigner applying for recognition as a Polish citizen should submit the following documents:

• 1 completed application for recognition as a Polish citizen, drawn up in Polish;
• 1 photo compliant with the guidelines;
• An abbreviated or full copy of a birth certificate issued by the Polish Registry Office on the basis of Polish civil registry records, containing the first and last names, date and place of birth, father's name and mother's name and family name;
• An abbreviated or full copy of a marriage certificate - issued not earlier than 3 months before - issued by the Polish Registry Office on the basis of Polish registry books, provided that the foreigner was married. If the marriage ceased as a result of divorce, a copy of the marriage certificate must be submitted containing a note of the divorce;
• A certified copy of a valid document confirming identity and citizenship (foreign passport, travel document);
• A certified copy of a permanent residence permit in Poland or a long-term EU resident's residence permit;
• A certified copy of the permanent residence card issued by the voivode;
• Official certificate of knowledge of the Polish language at the B1 level;

Note! Knowledge of Polish must be confirmed with a language certificate obtained after passing the state examination, a school leaving certificate (e.g. primary, secondary or higher school) in Poland or a school leaving certificate with Polish as the language of study.

Important information about the exams is available here.

A statement on the dates of departure from Poland and return as well as places of stay abroad during the required periods of uninterrupted stay (i.e. 10 or 3 or 2 years, depending on the basis on which the foreigner applies for recognition as a Polish citizen) together with documents confirming an uninterrupted stay in Poland (e.g. A passport with stamps, airline tickets). In the event that a person does not remember the specific dates of their departure from Poland and is not able to obtain such information, they may write a statement that they do not remember the specific dates of their departure and may only provide approximate dates;

• Documents confirming professional achievements (e.g. academic or professional degrees and titles) as well as political and social activity;
• A document confirming the citizenship of a foreign spouse (e.g. a certified copy of the page of a valid foreign spouse's passport with personal data, travel document or ID card confirming the spouse's identity and citizenship);
• Documents confirming that the person had Polish citizenship in the past or that they applied for it;
• Proof of payment of stamp duty for the decision on recognition as a Polish citizen.

Note! A foreigner applying for recognition as a Polish citizen on the basis of items 1 and 6 (see above) should additionally present:

• Documents confirming stable and regular sources of income in Poland (e.g. an employment certificate, a PIT form for the previous year, a certificate from the commune office on farm ownership, stating its size, decision on granting old-age and disability pensions);
• A document confirming a legal title to occupy residential premises (e.g. a deed of ownership of a flat or a lease agreement)

FEE

The stamp duty for the decision on the recognition as a Polish citizen is PLN 219. Such a fee may be returned in the event of a negative decision at the request of the person who applied for recognition as a citizen of the Republic of Poland.

DURATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS

The case should be examined immediately, if it can be examined on the basis of the evidence presented by the applicant. In the case of a matter requiring investigation - no later than within one month. In the event of a particularly complex case, the decision should be issued within two months (the above-mentioned deadlines do not include delays resulting from the fault of the party or for reasons beyond the control of the authorities).

APPEAL PROCEDURE

An appeal against the Voivode's decision may be submitted to the Minister of the Interior, via the Voivode, within 14 days from the delivery of the negative decision.