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Obtain Polish citizenship

You want to get Polish citizenship? You lost your Polish citizenship and want to restore it? You need official confirmation that you have Polish citizenship? Below you will find all the information you need.

Apply to the President for Polish citizenship.

How to get it done?
In the office or by letter.

Who can benefit from the service?
Any person who does not have Polish citizenship.

When to submit the application?
At any time.

How to submit the application?
1.    Gather all the necessary documents. See the ‘What to prepare’ section for details.
2.    Submit your application to the voivodeship office or to a consulate. See the ‘Where to apply’ section for details.
3.    If you apply to the consulate, pay the consular fee. See the ‘Fees for applying’ section for details.
4.    Wait for a response. You will receive a citizenship certificate or a certificate of refusal from the authority to which you applied. See the ‘How long is the wait’ section for details.
5.    If you have children between the ages of 16 and 18, they must give their consent in order to obtain citizenship. They can do this in person at the voivodeship office or consulate or by correspondence affixed with an officially certified signature. 

Where to submit the application?

  • to the voivode competent for your place of residence – if you are legally resident in Poland. For example, if you live in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, apply to the Pomeranian voivode,
  • to a consul – if you live abroad. You can find your consulate with the use of search engine available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Remember! If you send the application by post, you need an officially certified signature. This can be obtained at any notary's office. Such a service costs around PLN 20.

Fees for applying

  • EUR 360 – if you apply at the consulate. You will find out how to pay on the spot,
  • the cost of translation of documents – if you are enclosing documents in a foreign language with your application. The cost of translation depends on the translator's rate,
  • the cost of document authentication – if you attach copies of documents to your application,
  • PLN 20 for the notary’s authentication of your signature – if you send the application by post. The fee will be collected by the notary.

What to prepare?

  • application for Polish citizenship,
  • translation of foreign documents to Polish – if you are enclosing documents in a foreign language with your application. Such a translation must be carried out by a sworn translator or a Polish consul,
  • a statement of the other parent's consent to your children under 18 years of age acquiring Polish citizenship – if only one parent is applying for citizenship.

Remember! Children between the ages of 16 and 18 must first agree to receive citizenship. They can do this in person at the voivodeship office or consulate or by correspondence affixed with an officially certified signature.

How long is the wait?
The President of the Republic of Poland is not bound by any time limits in the cases of applying for the Polish citizenship. In practice, it currently takes more than a year to obtain the presidential decision.

How to appeal?
You cannot appeal. The decisions of the President of the Republic of Poland are final.

Worth knowing
Granting of Polish citizenship and the children: if both parents are granted Polish citizenship, their children who have not yet turned 18 will also be granted Polish citizenship. Remember that children over the age of 16 must first give their consent. They can do this in person at the voivodeship office or consulate or by correspondence affixed with an officially certified signature.
If only one parent gets Polish citizenship, their children, who have not yet turned 18, will only get Polish citizenship if:

  • the other parent does not have parental responsibility,
  • the other parent consented to the child acquiring Polish citizenship (consent is given in a declaration), 
  • children over the age of 16 must first give their consent for that. They can do this in person at the voivodeship office or consulate or by correspondence affixed with an officially certified signature.
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