Polish citizenship

Circular no. 1925

A very important legal act for the interpretation of the provisions of the Citizenship Act of 1920 is Circular No. 18 of the Minister of Internal Affairs of 9 July 1925 "Citizenship of persons born and naturalized in the USA".

The circular contains an official interpretation of the law, which despite the passage of nearly 100 years since its issue has still been observed by the administration bodies. According to the Circular, children of Polish immigrants who were born in the USA after 1920, and were legally granted foreign citizenship, did not lose their Polish citizenship. Therefore, it is an exception to the principle that the acquisition by people who are not subject to compulsory military service resulted in the loss of Polish citizenship (as it is known, newborns are not subject to military service).

The circular is also applicable to other countries in which ius soli was applicable (ie acquisition of citizenship by birth on the territory of a given country). The significance of the circular is limited only to the period of validity of the Act of 1920, that is 31 January 1920 until 19 January 1951, as since 19 January 1951, the acquisition of foreign citizenship has no longer caused the loss of Polish citizenship. The circular does not resolve the situation in which part of the siblings were born before January 31, 1920, and the other part after January 31, 1920.