In Part 1 of this article you will learn more about the two most common groups of cases when Polish citizenship is acquired under Polish law by a foreigner born abroad.
Part 2 will tell you about the last two groups and whether it is now possible to lose Polish citizenship.
The issue of acquiring Polish citizenship is currently regulated by the Act of April 2, 2009 on Polish citizenship.
This act guarantees the durability of Polish citizenship from the moment of its acquisition.
This means that persons who acquired Polish citizenship on the basis of the previously applicable regulations, if they have not lost Polish citizenship, retain it in accordance with the regulations in force on the date of its acquisition.
This rule is a directive for the Polish administration authorities in the proceedings for confirmation of Polish citizenship - which should be carried out in this case.
Generally, we distinguish four groups of cases in which Polish citizenship can be acquired.
These are:
- acquisition of Polish citizenship by operation of law - for a person born abroad who has Polish ancestors, in most cases it will be necessary to carry out the procedure of confirming Polish citizenship,
- granting citizenship by the President;
- recognition as a Polish citizen;
- restoration of Polish citizenship
Within the first group, we can distinguish four situations:
- Acquisition of Polish citizenship based on the so-called principle of the law of blood / Ius Sanguinis. It is a general rule that applies in Poland, according to which the acquisition of Polish citizenship is connected with the fact of giving birth to a child from at least one parent who has Polish citizenship.
A child who is born from persons who have Polish citizenship automatically acquires (i.e. under the law) Polish citizenship, regardless of the country in which the birth took place. This rule also applies to persons who acquired Polish citizenship on the basis of the previously applicable regulations - for foreigners with Polish roots, this means that they could "inherit" this citizenship from their grandparents or great-grandparents who emigrated from Poland years before.
- Acquisition of Polish citizenship by giving birth or finding a child in Poland whose parents are unknown or whose citizenship is undefined or do not have any citizenship - the so-called rule of territory / Ius Soli
- Acquisition of Polish citizenship through full adoption after August 15, 2012. In this case, a child adopted by a person or persons with Polish citizenship acquires this citizenship by operation of law, if the adoption took place before the child turns 16 years of age. In this case, it is assumed that the child acquired Polish citizenship on the day of birth.
- The acquisition of Polish citizenship may also take place on the basis of the provisions of the Repatriation Act by persons of Polish origin recognized as repatriates.
In each of the cases above - it will be necessary to conduct an appropriate administrative and legal procedure in Polish offices.
The second group of cases is the granting of Polish citizenship by the President of the Republic of Poland.
In this case, only the President of the Republic of Poland may grant the foreigner, upon his request, Polish citizenship. The President of the Republic of Poland is in no way limited in his constitutional powers and may grant Polish citizenship to any foreigner.
The President of the Republic of Poland grants Polish citizenship in the form of a decision.
Granting Polish citizenship to both parents will extend citizenship to their children until 18 years of age.
Granting Polish citizenship to one of the parents will extend to their child up to the age of 18, provided that the other parent has consented to the child's adoption of citizenship by the consul or voivode.
It may happen that the child's parents already have Polish citizenship and the child, for some reason, has not acquired this citizenship eg;the adoption of the child was made before August 15, 2012. Then the parents of such a child may apply to the President for granting Polish citizenship only for the child.
If a child is 16 years of age, citizenship is granted only with their consent.
If you would like to learn more about the ways of acquiring Polish citizenship and if it is possible to lose Polish citizenship read the Part 2 of this article.
If you need our help or advice, please contact us at:
contact@polishdescent.com
