How to get Polish citizenship by descent? That will be the topic of today’s article.
With countless developed Western countries bringing in new taxes, more people are looking at second residencies and citizenships.
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The number of people who receive Polish citizenship is growing every year – 2018 was a record year in this respect: almost 5.2 thousand people became citizens of Poland, which is a thousand more than a year or two years ago.
After Poland liberalized the rules for granting Polish citizenship to foreigners, the number of people who received Polish citizenship doubled in the first four years. 4.5-5 thousand foreigners receive Polish passports every year. For comparison: from 2002 to 2011, more than 24.5 thousand people received Polish citizenship.
Most often, foreigners apply for Polish citizenship for family reasons, on the basis of long-term residence in Poland, sometimes with Polish roots, and on the presence of a Pole Card.
In addition, it happens that foreigners associate their professional future with Poland as entrepreneurs or workers in a narrow field of activity. Most foreigners apply for citizenship through the President of the Republic of Poland, whose decision is not limited by any legal requirements, for example, the number of years of uninterrupted stay in Poland or knowledge of the language.
So, in 2016, by the decision of the President, 2,735 people received citizenship – twice as many as through the recognition of citizenship by voivods. However, in 2017, the President reduced the number of happy holders of Polish passports to 1,640 people. In 2018, 1973 foreigners received citizenship from the President.
Also, Poles, who have renounced it, are increasingly applying for Polish citizenship, but today they have the right to restore it. These are mainly emigrants who left Poland after March 1968, for example, as part of a family reunification campaign.
The Polish Citizenship Law of 1951 did not allow obtaining citizenship of another country. Today, 350-500 people return Polish citizenship every year.
Why is the number of foreigners receiving Polish passports growing? Firstly, Poland does not have the highest requirements for foreigners applying for citizenship.
The second reason is the low fees for an application for recognition as a Polish citizen, which are returned in case of rejection of the application. The most difficult stage for a foreigner applying for citizenship today is the exam in the Polish language.
And you can study it only on a paid, and not always cheap, basis. Add to this 600 PLN for the exam itself at the State Certification Commission. Moreover, in large cities of Poland there are often not enough places for those wishing to take Polish. All this makes it extremely difficult to collect documents for obtaining Polish citizenship.
Let’s now discuss all the available options of obtaining Polish citizenship, including all the necessary information such as what documents you need to present, what kind of examines you have to pass and how much it will cost you to apply for Polish citizenship in general. So read on to find out more.
First of all let’s get a general idea of who can be considered as Polish citizen and after discuss all the possible ways of getting it.
A minor child acquires Polish citizenship if:
As already mentioned above, Polish citizenship is granted by the President of the Republic of Poland. In his decision, the President is not limited by any conditions that a foreigner must fulfill in order to obtain Polish citizenship. This means that the President can grant Polish citizenship to every foreigner, regardless of, for example, how long he has been in Poland.
The granting of Polish citizenship takes place at the request of a foreigner. An application for Polish citizenship is submitted by persons legally residing in Poland to the President through the voivode at the place of residence of the person concerned. If the foreigner is abroad, the application must be submitted to the consul at the place of residence.
The application must be submitted in person or by mail. Documents issued in a foreign language must be submitted together with their translation into Polish, certified by a sworn translator or consul of the Republic of Poland.
It is worth knowing that the procedure for granting citizenship by the President can take a long time, because in its case the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Code do not apply. This means that even if the case can be decided on the basis of the evidence presented by the applicant, it should not be considered immediately, as in the case of the procedure for recognition as a citizen of Poland. Individuals applying for citizenship must substantiate their application and must provide an important reason why they should be granted Polish citizenship.
Refusal to grant Polish citizenship does not require substantiation and cannot be appealed.
This option applies to the majority of immigrants who would like to permanently stay in Poland, namely persons with permanent residence or a Resident Card.
To be recognized as a citizen, you need more than 3 years (or 1 year if you received permanent residence with a Pole Card or have origin) to live in Poland with a Resident Card, which you receive after living for 5 years with a residence permit.
For the legal and uninterrupted stay of a foreign citizen in Poland, there is a special permit document – a card to stay in Poland (residence permit in Poland). This ID card not only certifies the identity of the owner, but also allows you to use a whole range of privileges: get a job, take free training in government agencies, receive medical care without payment in the country, travel to European countries, and much more.
Visually, the residence card is identical to the European passport, that is, it is made of plastic, on which there is a photograph of the holder and his biometric data are recorded: PESEL number, registration address at the place of residence, information about parents and fingerprints. A temporary or permanent residence card does not regulate (unlike a work or Schengen visa) the number of visits to the EU countries and the length of stay in Poland until the expiry of the permit.
Residence permit in Poland (temporary residence permit, Karta czasоwego pоbytu). An hourly residence card allows the holder to live and work in the country for 1-3 years.
The grounds for obtaining may be: enrollment in a cohort of persons with especially valuable professional, scientific or cultural experience; contract with a Polish employer; matriculation; marriage with a citizen / citizen of the Republic of Poland, etc. The temporary residence permit can be extended for another 3 years at the request of the customer.
Permanent residence in Poland (permanent residence, Karta stałego pobytu). A residence card is issued by the regional administration of the country to those citizens who meet the following requirements: they have a Pole card, have lived in the country for more than 5 years on the basis of a Polish temporary residence permit (sentry card) or can confirm the presence of Pole blood ancestors (one of the parents , grandparents or two grandparents).
The validity period of the document is unlimited, after 10 years, if the holder has not received Polish citizenship, it is extended for a similar period. Polish permanent residence gives the holder the right to work and reside in other Schengen countries. The main advantage of this type of card is the ability to obtain citizenship of the country one year after obtaining the status.
Blue Card (resident status of the European Union, zezwolenie na pobyt rezydenta długoterminowego Unii Europejskiej) – valid for 5 years, can be issued to applicants who have resided in the territory of the Polish Republic for at least 5 years and are ready to confirm their regular income for the last 3 years. A resident card is an analogue of Polish citizenship.
Having a residence card will give you a lot of privileges such as:
A negative answer about the issuance of a card by the way of Poland can be received by the applicant if: he initiates obtaining refugee status without reason, refused to submit biometric data (for people who cannot do this due to physical disabilities, tolerant procedures are provided), is absent on the territory republic or is in custody.
Also, the reason for the refusal may be the negative tax history of the applicant or the employer with whom the contract is concluded.
Full-time students of higher educational institutions, regardless of the period of study, also have the right to legally work in the country without restrictions on the type of activity.
At the same time, persons who are studying in the evening or part-time department (on the basis of a residence card for study) can also find employment in Polish companies – the format and place of work is determined in each voivodeship on an individual basis.
The Polish residence card for minor children gives their parents (or guardians) the opportunity to renew it without leaving the country.
After 5 years in the status of a residence permit and 1 year in the status of permanent residence (also for Pole card holders), the applicant can apply to obtain EU citizenship and passport.
Applicant’s questionnaire: filled in according to the regulated form in two copies, necessarily in Polish. A sample is provided to the Voivodship Uzhond at the place of submission of documents;
Residence permit card:
standard registration for 6-8 months – 1200 euros.
Permanent residence card:
standard registration for 5-8 months – 800 euros;
urgent registration in 3-4 months (if you have a Pole card) – 700 euros.
Residence card for children (up to 18 years of age) – 500 euros.
Here is the last option to obtain Polish residence. Foreigners can apply for the restoration of Polish citizenship if they had Polish citizenship in the past, but lost it before January 1, 1999. For this, a foreigner applies to the Minister of the Interior with a corresponding statement.
A foreigner residing outside Poland submits an application for the restoration of Polish citizenship through the consul of the Republic of Poland at the foreigner’s place of residence.
The application for the restoration of Polish citizenship must contain: data of the foreigner, address, statement of the presence of Polish citizenship in the past, information about the circumstances of its loss and biography.
The application for the restoration of Polish citizenship is also accompanied by:
Forms, applications and documents in a foreign language must be submitted together with their translation into Polish prepared or certified by a sworn translator or consul.
The granting of Polish citizenship takes place on the day when the decision to restore Polish citizenship becomes final.
The case should be tried immediately if possible on the basis of the evidence presented by the applicant. In the case of a case requiring a clarification proceeding – no later than one month.
In the case of particularly difficult cases, a decision must be made within two months (the above time limits do not include delays due to the fault of the party or for reasons beyond the control of the authorities).
A Polish residence permit for temporary residence is issued to those citizens who:
*Citizens who have a Pole card do not need to obtain an additional work permit in the country.
Residence card can be issued only at the place of residence in a certain voivodeship in Poland. It is important to remember that the entire documentation package submitted by the applicant must contain translations of the information into Polish (only a sworn translator has the right to transliterate).
According to the official regulations, the period for consideration of documents is up to 3 months with the right to renew for every next 3 months.
In practice, the period for considering a case, from the moment of filing an application (filling) to the moment of receiving the card, is from 4 to 10 months, this is the average waiting time for readiness.
It is important to remember that there should not be a break between the expiration date of the Schengen visa (or work visa to Poland) and the date of submission of documents, otherwise this period will be interpreted as an illegal stay in the state.
There is no legal requirement for foreign citizens to prohibit leaving the country. At the same time, the migration services of the state always take this point into account, moreover, migration inspectors have a positive attitude towards persons who have lived in the country for a long time and do not leave it without good reason. This factor can be decisive when applying for a residence permit or obtaining EU citizenship.