Recognition of a Child and the Issue of Polish Citizenship
Recognition of a child – this legal act in the field of family law is significant from the perspective of a child's acquisition of Polish citizenship. This stems from the "principle of blood," also known as "jus sanguinis," applied in Poland in this regard. According to this principle, the right to citizenship ex lege is granted based on birth to Polish parents, not solely on birth in the territory of the Republic of Poland (jus soli/law of the soil), which is provided for only in exceptional circumstances (for example, if both parents are unknown).
Recognition of a child therefore, under Polish law, results in a significant change in determining whether the child has acquired Polish citizenship ex lege at birth, although the effect of recognition on citizenship is regulated differently under subsequent acts on Polish citizenship.
Recognition of a Child and Polish Citizenship According to the 1920 Act on Citizenship of the Polish State
Article 13 of the Civil Code provides in this matter. 6 of the Act in question:
"By entitlement, recognition, or adoption, a child under 18 years of age acquires the citizenship of their father or mother, or of another person recognizing or adopting them."
It follows that recognition of a child affected their possession of Polish citizenship. The effect of recognition on the child's citizenship was limited only by the child's age—recognition had to occur before the child reached 18 years of age.
Recognition of a child by a Polish citizen therefore resulted in the acquisition of Polish citizenship.
Recognition of a child and Polish citizenship according to the 1951 Act on Polish Citizenship
This Act does not address the issue of child recognition at all. It should therefore be understood that it does not establish any limitations on the impact of recognition of a child on the acquisition of Polish citizenship by the child from the recognizing parent; in particular, it does not specify any deadline for child recognition. In accordance with the Family Code of 27 June 1950 in force at the time, pursuant to Art. Under Articles 44 and 45, a father could recognize a child from conception, but the Code did not specify any deadline after which recognition would be impossible.
If a child recognized by a Polish father met the general statutory requirements for acquiring Polish citizenship ex lege – taking into account the person who recognized the child as its parent from birth – the child acquired Polish citizenship by operation of law.
This Act generally introduced the possibility of acquiring Polish citizenship ex lege if at least one of the child's parents was a Polish citizen.
Recognition of a Child and Polish Citizenship under the 1962 Act on Polish Citizenship and under the 2009 Act on Polish Citizenship
The situation regarding the impact of recognition of a child on their citizenship changed dramatically under the Polish Citizenship Act of 1962. Specifically, the aforementioned Act, in Article 7, Section 1. The first sentence of Article 7 of the Act establishes a one-year deadline for recognizing a child to have an impact on their citizenship. It states: "Changes in determining the identity or citizenship of one or both parents shall be taken into account when determining the child's citizenship if they occur within one year of the child's birth."
Therefore, recognition occurring later than one year after the child's birth no longer affects the child's citizenship.
However, the legislator provided an exception in this regard, concerning changes in determining the father as a result of court proceedings – for denial of paternity or for invalidation of the recognition of the child. Article 7. Section 2 of the Act in question states in this respect: "Changes in determining the father, resulting from a court decision issued as a result of an action for denial of paternity or for invalidation of the recognition of the child, shall be taken into account when determining the child's citizenship, unless the child has already reached the age of majority. If the child has reached the age of sixteen, a change of citizenship may only occur with the child's consent."
Article 6 of the 2009 Act on Polish Citizenship regulates this issue analogously.
Summary
In summary, the recognition of a child under any of the Polish citizenship acts in force over the years could have affected their citizenship. For the above reasons, if a child's recognition occurred under a given factual situation, it is always important to consider which of the acts in question governed the event. It is best to consult with specialists who, after analyzing the case, will be able to most fully determine the impact of the child's recognition on their citizenship in a given case, as numerous legal changes have occurred in this area over the years. It is also important to emphasize that in citizenship matters, we apply the act under which the given situation occurred, and not necessarily the most recent act.