Polskie obywatelstwo i polski paszport - informacja i procedura
On estimating emigration statistics, it becomes remarkable that one third of Polish citizens (which means: over 20 million people) live outside Poland. Three countries in the world – Russia, China and Italy – are ahead of us with regard to the absolute number of emigrants. One is authorized to apply for a confirmation of Polish citizenship when being a former inhabitant of Polish territory, including Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, who was born there in the period between World Wars, which means, during the time when these lands belonged to Poland.
Apart from the abovementioned, this can be done by their descendents – one need to keep in mind that in Polish lawthe ‘’blood principle’’ (ius sanguinis) , concerning the inheritance of citizenship, is in effect. A citizen of Poland is one of whom a minimum of one parent holds citizenship. The place of birth is not relevant.
Polish Citizenship through ancestry
The ’’number of generations’’ has no significance either – among the persons whose cases were handled by our employees, there could be found citizens of the USA, South American countries, Israel and Australia, whose grandparents had left Poland in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century.
One must remember, though, that individual approach is required in case of those emigrants (or their descendents) who left Poland in the period between Jan 31, 1920 and Jan 19, 1951. In these cases, it is necessary to precisely verify the age of persons who left, any facts connected with contracted marriages, or even details concerning further life outside the territory of Poland (e.g. military service), which could have had direct influence on the loss of Polish citizenship by an emigrant, which obviously had implications for the descendants’ legal status.
Many people interested in certification of Polish citizenship and living beyond the Polish borders believe (information obtained from friends or read on various types of internet forums or webpages) that the procedure involves the participation of a Polish diplomatic agency. This information is incorrect – the whole procedure takes place before appropriate offices (or, in some cases, before administrative courts) in Poland. The application is submitted to the office of a governor of province, depending on the last legal domicile – and in case of persons never inhabiting the territory of the country – to the office of Governor of Mazowieckie. The obtained decision qualifies as an administrative decision.
The set of documents required from an applicant may differ in particular cases depending on actual situation – we present in details the scope of demanded documents during the initial analysis of each case. Applicants do not need to know the Polish language or be familiar with the Polish culture. Similarly, they do not have to pass any specific tests. Upon acquisition of Polish citizenship, they may immediately apply for the Polish ID card and Polish passport.