Polish Citizenship by Descent is the topic we will be discussing today on our blog. Confirmation of Polish citizenship is not an easy procedure, as it may require the submission of numerous documents that need to be searched for in various archives. If you are considering confirming your citizenship, today’s post can give you an idea of how to do it.

Table of contents – read more about:

• Confirmation of Polish citizenship
• Confirmation of Polish citizenship step by step
• Polish Citizenship by Descent
• Documents required for Polish citizenship confirmation
• Cost of confirming Polish citizenship
• How to confirm Polish citizenship
• What document proves Polish citizenship?
• Who qualifies as a Polish citizen?
• Certificate confirming Polish citizenship
• Required documents for Polish citizenship by descent
• Authority responsible for granting Polish citizenship
• Lawyer assisting with Polish citizenship confirmation
• Legal representation for citizenship confirmation proceedings
• Confirmation of Polish citizenship for a minor
• Polish citizenship confirmation for a child born outside Poland
• Confirmation of Polish citizenship step by step
• Is a Polish birth certificate proof of citizenship?
• What is the waiting time for confirmation of Polish citizenship?
• Steps and Requirements – confirmation of Polish citizenship
• Attorney for citizenship confirmation

Polish citizenship cannot technically be “obtained” through ancestry, as it is acquired automatically at birth. Nevertheless, it must be formally confirmed. This confirmation is an official procedure that recognizes a person of Polish descent as a Polish citizen. Completing this process is necessary in order to officially register the citizenship and to apply for a Polish passport.

If you are seeking confirmation of Polish citizenship, you must show that your ancestors were Polish citizens. Additionally, you need to demonstrate that neither you nor your ancestors lost this citizenship at any point due to legal circumstances.

Confirmation requires proving a direct line of descent from a Polish citizen, such as a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent. To assess whether citizenship was passed down, it is essential to verify whether your ancestors legally held Polish citizenship. This determination depends on the laws in force at the time of their birth and lives, including the Polish Citizenship Acts of 1920, 1951, or 1962, depending on the relevant period.

Demonstrating this is quite a complex proces – especially when more distant ancestors are involved. It may be necessary to consult numerous archives. Voivodeship offices require all civil status records of the applicant and of previous generations, going back as far as the generation that left the country; in many cases, obtaining these documents can be very difficult. In addition, you must also prove that your ancestor did not lose Polish citizenship, which also can be tough.

In the past, most countries followed the principle that a person could hold only one citizenship.
This also applied to Poland, where between 1920 and 1951 a very restrictive law was in force. Under its provisions, Polish citizenship could be lost by:

• holding a public office in a foreign state,
• performing military service for a foreign state,
• in the case of women – also through marriage to a foreign citizen. At that time, women adopted not only their husbands’ surnames but also their citizenship.

As you can see, it was relatively easy to lose citizenship in those days. Moreover, there was no obligation to inform a person that they had lost it. If your ancestor did not apply, for example, for a Polish passport, they might never have found out.

Therefore, in order to confirm citizenship, it may be necessary to obtain a document certifying that your ancestor did not serve in a foreign army or hold a public office.

Official decisions confirming possession of Polish citizenship are issued by a Voivode.

To receive such confirmation, you must file an application with the appropriate Voivode.

The application should be lodged with the Voivode responsible for your current or most recent place of residence in Poland. If you have never resided in Poland, the competent authority is the Masovian Voivode.

Applicants residing outside Poland may also submit their application via the Polish consulate that has jurisdiction over their place of residence.

PLEASE NOTE It is your responsibility, as the applicant, to prove your citizenship by submitting all required documents. The authority will not search for them on your behalf.

You will need:

– civil status records concerning you  (birth certificate, marriage certificate, if applicable),

– birth and marriage certificates of your ancestors, up to the generation that left the country,

– your foreign passport,

– certificate of acquisition of foreign citizenship – if applicable,

– if the Act of 1920 applies – documents confirming that your ancestor did not serve in a foreign army and did not hold public office in a foreign country.

Any other documents you can find, such as church records or military service books, may also be useful.

All foreign documents should be translated into Polish by a Polish Sworn Translator.

The administrative charge for issuing a decision that confirms the acquisition of Polish citizenship amounts to 277 PLN. If the decision is unfavorable or the proceedings are terminated, you may request reimbursement of the paid fee.

The Voivode is required to issue a decision within six months. This deadline may be prolonged in justified circumstances.

It may mean that if any document is missing, the authority will request you to supplement the application after six months, and then you will have to wait another six months for the application to be examined. This cycle may be repeated multiple times. Therefore, it is advisable to prepare a complete set of documents from the very beginning. It is also worth seeking the assistance of a lawyer to avoid unnecessary problems, especially if obtaining confirmation of citizenship as quickly as possible is important to you.

If you successfully prove your citizenship, you will receive a certificate confirming Polish citizenship.

The next step is to transcribe your foreign civil status records – your birth certificate and, if applicable, your marriage certificate – into the Polish civil registry.

After that, you can apply for a Polish passport (either at a consulate or at a voivodeship office).

 This will also result in being assigned a PESEL number.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you have the right to appeal. The appeal should be addressed to the Minister of the Interior and Administration but filed through the Voivode who issued the decision. You must submit the appeal within 14 days from the date you receive the decision.