Pursuant to Article 9(3)(4) of the Repatriation Act, a national visa for repatriation may also be issued to the spouse and descendants (and their spouses) of a person meeting the conditions of Article 9(1).

If the spouse does not exercise the option to obtain a repatriation visa and when they intend to settle in the territory of the Republic of Poland together with the repatriate, the Head of the Office for Foreign Nationals shall grant or refuse granting, upon request of the repatriate’s spouse, a permanent residence permit.

The above procedure also applies to a minor who remains under the parental authority of a repatriate, who failed to obtain the consent of the other parent, who is not a repatriate, for the acquisition of Polish citizenship.

In both of these cases, an application for a permanent residence permit for a spouse or a minor in question is attached to the application for a national visa for repatriation.

The appropriate authority for issuing or replacing the residence card in this situation is the Voivode competent for the place of residence of the foreigner.

Granting a permanent residence permit and residence cards is governed by the provisions of Chapters VI and VII of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 35).

Pursuant to Article 158(1) of the Act on foreigners, a permanent residence permit is granted to a foreign family member of a Polish citizen when:

1. a person is married to a Polish citizen and the marriage is recognized under the law of the Republic of Poland or
2. it is a minor child of a foreigner who is married to a citizen of the Republic of Poland and this marriage is recognized by the law of the Republic of Poland, who possesses a temporary residence permit granted to a family member of a Polish citizen

 

A foreign citizen who holds a temporary residence permit granted to a family member of a Polish citizen shall be issued another permit in the case of:

1. divorce or separation of a foreigner referred to in paragraph 1(1) when there is important consideration supporting it,
2. either the foreigner becoming a widower, referred to in paragraph 1(1), or
3. death of a parent to a minor child referred to in paragraph 1(2) when there is important consideration of said child supporting it,

 

In the cases referred to above, another permit shall be granted once for a period not exceeding 3 years.

The conditions for granting a permanent residence permit for an indefinite period are regulated by Article 195 of the Act on foreigners. This permit is granted upon request of e.g. a person who has been married to a Polish citizen in a marriage recognized by Polish law for at least 3 years prior to filing the application for a permanent residence permit and has stayed in the territory of the Republic of Poland without interruption immediately before filing the application for at least 2 years pursuant to a temporary residence permit issued pursuant to marriage with a Polish citizen.

A repatriate’s spouse, residing continuously in the territory of the Republic of Poland for at least 2 years on the basis of a permanent residence permit, may apply for recognition as a Polish citizen, pursuant to Article 30(1)(2)(a) of the Act of 2 April 2009 on Polish citizenship (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 347), if they have been married to this repatriate for at least 3 years.
 
A foreigner applying for Polish citizenship (excluding a minor) must have the command of Polish confirmed by an official certificate, a report from a school in the Republic of Poland or a report from a foreign school where Polish is the language of instruction. The application for being acknowledged as a Polish citizen is submitted to a Voivode competent in the place of residence of a foreigner in Poland.