Recognition as a Polish citizen with a permanent residence permit
One of several ways to obtain Polish citizenship is the procedure of being recognized as a Polish citizen. The intention of the legislator was to create a procedure that would make it easier for foreigners who actually live and live in Poland to obtain citizenship. The two most important prerequisites for being recognized as a Polish citizen are the requirement of confirmed knowledge of the Polish language at the B1 level and documented, uninterrupted stay on the territory of Poland.
Staying on the territory of Poland upon recognition as a citizen can be legalized through several documents, one of which is a permanent residence permit.
A person may apply for a permanent residence permit if:
- 1) is a child of a Polish citizen, remaining under his parental authority;
- 2) is a child of a foreigner who has been granted a permanent residence permit or a long-term resident's EU residence permit, remaining under his parental authority, born (a, b or c):
- a. after granting this permit to that foreigner,
- b. or during the period of validity of the temporary residence permit granted to that foreigner
- c. or during the stay of that foreigner in Poland on the basis of a residence permit for humanitarian reasons, a tolerated stay permit or in connection with granting him refugee status/subsidiary protection.
- 3) has a Pole's Card or is a person of Polish origin - and intends to settle in Poland permanently;
- 4) remains in a marriage recognized by the law of the Republic of Poland with a Polish citizen and meets the following two conditions jointly:
- 1. has been married for at least 3 years before the date of submitting the application for a permanent residence permit, and
- 2. immediately before submitting this application, he/she stayed continuously in Poland for a period of not less than 2 years on the basis of a temporary residence permit granted in connection with being married to that Polish citizen or in connection with obtaining refugee status, subsidiary protection or residence permit for humanitarian reasons;
- 5) is a victim of human trafficking within the meaning of Art. 115 § 22 of the Penal Code and meets the following three conditions in total
- 1. stayed on the territory of the Republic of Poland immediately before submitting the application for a permanent residence permit for a period of not less than 1 year on the basis of a temporary residence permit for victims of trafficking in human beings,
- 2. cooperated with law enforcement authorities in criminal proceedings regarding the offense referred to in Art. 189a § 1 of the Penal Code
- 3. has a well-founded fear of returning to his or her country of origin;
- 6) immediately before submitting the application for this permit, he/she stayed continuously in Poland for a period not shorter than:
- 7) 5 years in connection with granting him refugee status, subsidiary protection or residence permit for humanitarian reasons,
- 8) 10 years on the basis of a permit for tolerated stay granted pursuant to Art. 351 point 1 or 3 of the Act on foreigners,
- 9) he was granted asylum on the territory of the Republic of Poland.
Uninterrupted stay, as a rule, means that none of the breaks in stay on the territory of Poland was longer than 6 months, and all breaks did not exceed 10 months in total in the periods constituting the basis for granting a permanent residence permit.
However, there are some exceptions to this rule and absences may be excused:
- • performing professional duties by a foreigner or providing work outside the territory of the Republic of Poland on the basis of an agreement concluded with an employer whose registered office is located in the territory of the Republic of Poland, or
- • accompanying such a foreigner by his spouse or minor child, or
- • a special personal situation requiring the foreigner's presence outside the territory of the Republic of Poland (related to, for example, hospitalization, necessary treatment impossible to be carried out in Poland) and lasted no longer than 6 months, or
- • leaving the territory of the Republic of Poland in order to complete an internship or participate in classes provided for in the course of studies at a Polish university (eg leaving under the Erasmus programme).
The permanent residence permit is submitted in person, no later than on the last day of legal residence in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
In the case of a minor, the application is submitted by parents or guardians appointed by the court or one of the parents and guardians. However, if the application concerns a minor who is over 6 years of age, his/her presence is required when submitting the application.
The application completed legibly in Polish should be submitted in 2 copies (in cases of foreigners who are under 13 years of age - only 1 copy of the application). You should join it:
- • 4 recent, undamaged, color documentary photographs, sized 35 x 45 mm, taken within the last 6 months
- • a valid travel document (2 photocopies of all its pages containing stamps, annotations and documents writings, original available for inspection); in cases of foreigners who are under 13 years old - only 1 photocopy of the travel document;
- • documents confirming the required uninterrupted stay in Poland.
- • stamp duty payment confirmation (if required).
The application is submitted to the competent voivodeship office.
The cost of issuing a permanent residence permit is PLN 640. The fee is paid to the account indicated by the office. In the case of a negative decision, the fee is returned.
However, in the case of receiving a positive decision in the case, the foreigner is obliged to pay PLN 100 for issuing the Residence Card.
Any gaps in the documents should be supplemented in accordance with the content of the summons received.
Source: mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl
