Procedures

Recognition of a foreigner as a Polish citizen

A foreigner is recognized as a Polish citizen upon his or her request, and in the case of a minor – at the request of his or her statutory representatives. If there is no agreement between the statutory representatives, each of them can file a petition with the court for a settlement.

An application for recognition as a Polish citizen contains:

  1. data of the foreigner;
  2. place of residence;
  3. information about the foreigner’s sources of income in the Republic of Poland, his or her place of accommodation, professional achievements, political and social activity;
  4. data of the foreigner’s spouse;
  5. information whether the foreigner has applied for the Polish citizenship before and whether he or she used to have the Polish citizenship in the past;
  6. justification.

A foreigner who has parental authority over a foreign minor provides also the following information:

  • data of the minor;
  • information whether and before which institution a statement of consent to acquisition of the citizenship was given.

The following documents are submitted with the application for recognition as a Polish citizen:

  1. documents confirming the data and information contained in the application,
  2. official certification of command of the Polish language, a graduation certificate from a school in the Republic of Poland or a graduation certificate from a school abroad with Polish as the language of instruction, if required;
  3. photographs of the people concerned.

An application for recognition as a Polish citizen is filed on the application form.

An application for recognition as a Polish citizen is filed with a provincial governor.

If an application for recognition of a foreigner as a Polish citizen is filed at the time when the proceedings for granting the Polish citizenship to this foreigner are conducted, the proceedings for recognition as a Polish citizen are discontinued. If an application for recognition of a foreigner as a Polish citizen is filed at the time when the proceedings for reinstatement of the Polish citizenship of this foreigner are conducted, the proceedings for recognition as a Polish citizen are suspended until the proceedings for reinstatement of the Polish citizenship are completed. A decision on recognition of a foreigner as a Polish citizen is issued by a provincial governor competent in terms of the place of residence of the person concerned. Before issuing a decision, the provincial governor makes a request to the provincial chief of the Police, the head of a branch office of the Internal Security Agency, or to other institutions, if necessary, for information whether the acquisition of the Polish citizenship by a foreigner does not pose a threat to defences or security of the state or to public security and order.