Restoration of Polish citizenship

Polish citizenship and Polish passport

Nearly 300 applications for restoration of polish citizenship For 4 months now foreigners may seek restoration of polish citizenship, which they had in the past and lost before 1 January 1999. So far, the Ministry of Interior has received 289 applications for restoration of polish citizenship, including 232 through consulates. Minister Jacek Cichocki has already issued 187 decisions – including 181 on restoration of polish citizenship to foreigners. Outside of Poland foreigners file their applications in consulates located primarily in Germany, Sweden, the United States and Canada.

Some more information about polish citizenship here - CK Law Office - legal assistance.

Restoration of polish citizenship is a new legal instrument. So far foreigners could not seek restoration of polish citizenship. Until recently, foreigners could acquire polish citizenship through – inter alia – the act of the President of the Republic of Poland. The procedure for restoration of polish citizenship may be used by – inter alia – persons, who acquired foreign citizenship between August 1962 and December 1998 and received a permission to change polish citizenship to a foreign one, thus losing polish citizenship. Foreigners, who had had polish citizenship in the past and lost it before 1 January 1999, may seek its restoration through applying to the Minister of Interior. For this purpose, a foreigner residing in the territory of Poland shall file a special application. Foreigners residing outside of the territory of the Republic of Poland shall file applications for restoration of polish citizenship via consuls competent for the place of residence.

Some more information about polish passport CK Law Office Kancelaria Adwokacka.

 In the four months the new provisions have been in place, 289 applications for restoration of polish citizenship have been filed with the Ministry of Interior. The majority of applications, as many as 232, have been filed via relevant consulates. 57 applications have been submitted directly to MI. Most of the applications via consulates have been filed in Germany – 93 (including 45 in Cologne, 30 in Berlin, 11 in Hamburg and 7 in Munich). In Sweden, foreigners filed 53 applications, in the United States 20, and 19 in Canada. Minister of Interior Jacek Cichocki has issued 187 decisions so far – including 181 on the restoration of polish citizenship to foreigners. Foreigners who lost polish citizenship after 1 January 1999 could and are still able to apply for the polish citizenship to be granted by the President of the Republic of Poland.

Polish citizenship and Polish passport

The application for restoration of polish citizenship shall contain, inter alia: data of a foreigner, address of residence, declaration on having polish citizenship in the past, information on circumstances of its loss, as well as a curriculum vitae. A foreigner’s application for restoration of polish citizenship shall be accompanied by, inter alia: documents confirming identity and citizenship, documents confirming loss of polish citizenship and a photograph.

Some more information about polish citizenship and polish passport - CK Law Office Kancelaria Adwokacka

Applications, declarations and documents drafted in a foreign language shall be filed together with their translation made or certified by a sworn translator or a consul. The Minister of Interior shall issue a decision on restoration of polish citizenship pursuant to the provisions of the Act on polish citizenship, while applying the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Code in the process. The provisions of the Act of 2 April 2009 on polish citizenship and the Ordinance of 8 May 2012 on the specimen form for application for restoration of polish citizenship and a photograph attached to the application came into force on 15 May this year.

Polish citizenship - granting and acquiring

Naturalization – how to get the Polish citizenship and European Passport

http://www.cklawoffice.eu/

Polish citizenship - law

According to art. 8 of the Polish Citizenship Act, “one can give (grant) the Polish citizenship on foreigner’s application if he/she has stayed in Poland on the basis of settlement permission, residence permission or long-term stay permission of the UE resident for at least 5 years”. According to what other legal acts settled in that matter, granting the Polish citizenship is within the competence of the Polish President. Granting the Polish citizenship can involve submitting the evidence of loss or renunciation of a foreign citizenship. To sum up, even people who don’t have Polish roots could be given the Polish citizenship and Polish passport (European passport).

Art. 10 of the same Polish citizenship act states: “A foreigner, who has got settlement permission and is married to a Polish citizen for at least 3 years, gets the Polish citizenship, if he/she will submit the application at the right time indicated in 1a. to an appropriate institution which will issue the decision to accept the application”. 1a. The application for the Polish citizenship should be submitted 6 months from the moment when a foreigner got the settlement permit, or 3,6 years from the moment when he/she got married with a person who possess the Polish citizenship. Considering art. 10, if anybody would like to apply for the Polish citizenship and passport - he/she has to be given a settlement permission (except of being married to a Polish citizen) but it requires permanent residence in the territory of Poland for at least 2 years. It means that within 2 years intermissions which may take place cannot be longer than 10 months in total, and none of them can be longer than 6 months.

http://www.cklawoffice.eu/

Polish passport - procedure

However, para. 2 of art. 8 (the Polish Citizenship Act) gives an exception to the condition of 5 years’ residence in Poland on the basis of a settlement permission, long-term residence permission of the European Community or right to permanent residence, stating that in particularly justified cases the cited rule does not apply and a foreigner may be granted the Polish citizenship on his/her request, even if in a particular case it does not correspond to the conditions specified above. This applies both to a foreigner staying in Poland for less than 5 years on the basis of the above mentioned permissions, and to a foreigner living abroad.

Each case is being considered individually. With this procedure, the Polish citizenship may be acquired by people who had it before (or if they ancestors got the Polish citizenship), but there were different circumstances when they have lost it (for example, if they resigned the renounced Polish citizenship or lost it because of some regulations/laws). Only the President of Poland has an authority to grant the Polish citizenship.

Residents in Poland submit their applications for the Polish citizenship through appropriate regional governor office (corresponding to a place of residence), and people who live abroad - through an appropriate consulate. Applications and accompanying documents shall be submitted to the Department of Citizenship and Repatriation in Ministry of Interior and Administration, and then sent forward together with the position of the ministry to the Chancellery of the President. Granting the Polish citizenship to both parents also applies to children remaining under their parental authority. When a child reaches the age of 16, this takes place by his consent.

Detailed procedure in cases of Polish citizenship and corresponding certificates and applications are listed in the Regulation of the President from March 14 2000 (Dziennik Ustaw Nr 18, Poz. 231). To get a Polish passport (European passport), further procedures are necessary and it may take some months.