Success in proceedings before the Minister - the path to confirmation of citizenship is open for the descendants of Polish citizens born before 1933
The Minister agreed with the argument put forward by the team of our Chancellery, according to which all women born under the Act of January 20, 1920 on the citizenship of the Polish State (i.e. - before January 19, 1933), who acquired dual citizenship at the moment of birth, do not they lost their Polish citizenship despite having citizenship of another country.
This groundbreaking decision was made after the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration considered an appeal against the decision of the Voivode refusing to confirm the Polish citizenship of the Applicant who is a client of our Law Firm. The applicant derived his Polish citizenship from his mother, who was born in 1929 in Brazil. At the moment of birth, she acquired Polish citizenship from her father and Brazilian citizenship in accordance with land law.
According to the position of the administration bodies maintained over the years, the fact of acquiring citizenship of a foreign country under the Act of 1920 always resulted in the loss of Polish citizenship. This interpretation of the regulations was particularly unfavorable for the married daughters of Polish citizens. It was assumed that when they acquired Polish and foreign citizenship at the moment of birth, in accordance with the principle of uniform citizenship, families continued to maintain Polish citizenship during their minor years, but lost it upon reaching adulthood. Men with dual citizenship were in a more favorable situation - after turning 18, they were subject to compulsory military service, which protected them from losing their Polish citizenship.
This interpretation of the provisions was initially also applied in the present case. The voivode stated that the Applicant's mother, due to the fact that she also had foreign citizenship, lost her Polish citizenship upon reaching the age of majority (when her citizenship ceased to depend on the citizenship of her father). However, in the appeal against the Voivode's decision, our team argued that Art. 11 point 1 of the Act on Polish Citizenship of 1920 should be understood as meaning that the loss of Polish citizenship occurred only when foreign citizenship was acquired later than Polish citizenship. This position is confirmed by the latest judgments of administrative courts, in particular the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of December 19, 2022 (reference number II OSK 2095/21), in the justification for which the Court stated that: "(...) It should be considered inadmissible such an interpretation of Art. 11 point 1 of the Citizenship Act of 1920, which assumes the loss of Polish citizenship in the event of simultaneous acquisition of Polish and foreign citizenship or subsequent acquisition of Polish citizenship by a citizen of a foreign country. We described this judgment on our website in September 2023.
While considering the appeal, the Minister agreed with the above-mentioned arguments and confirmed that the Applicant's mother did not lose her Polish citizenship under the provisions of the 1920 Act - she acquired foreign citizenship at the same time as Polish citizenship. Consequently, the Applicant also acquired Polish citizenship.
This should be considered a breakthrough in cases regarding confirmation of Polish citizenship by persons who derive their citizenship from women (marital daughters of Polish citizens) born before 1933. We can count on the fact that the Minister's decision will be a precedent and will open the way to obtaining Polish citizenship for many people who have not yet had the opportunity to apply for confirmation of Polish citizenship due to the previously unfavorable interpretation of the provisions of the 1920 Act.
Justyna Dąbrowska
