Application for Polish Citizenship

Application for Polish Citizenship
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS:

In accordance with Sec. 8 of the Statute on Polish Citizenship, of 15 February 1962 with later amendments, a foreigner may be granted Polish citizenship upon his or her request:
• If he/she has been residing in Poland for at least five years on the basis of a permanent residence permit (residency requirements are shortened to 6 months if the applicant has been married to a Polish citizen for at least three years),
• Only in exceptional circumstances, the President may waive the above mentioned requirements. In such a case, the applicant has to convince the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland that such circumstances do apply in their particular case.

Granting Polish citizenship to both parents extends to children who are under their parental custody. Granting Polish citizenship only to one of the parents extends to children if:
• they are solely under his or her parental authority, the other parent is a Polish citizen, or the other parent granted his or her permission for the child’s acquisition of Polish citizenship.
Granting or extending the acquisition of Polish citizenship to children who are over 16 is done only with their consent.

PROCEDURE:

It is the President of the Republic of Poland who grants Polish citizenship.
Applicants residing outside of Poland submit their applications (with all the required documents enclosed) for Polish citizenship to the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in the office closest to their legal permanent residence. Submitted documents are verified by the Consulate and transferred first to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, which subsequently forwards them to the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw. The procedure can last for up to 3 years.

REUIRED DOCUMENTS:

ATTENTION: All documents submitted before Polish authorities need to be either in Polish or translated into Polish. Each translation needs to be certified by a consul or a certified translator in Poland. Plain photocopies are not respected by Polish authorities. The photocopies of all Polish documents need to be certified by a consul, all copies of foreign documents need to be “appostilled” (bear a special authentification seal called “apostille”)

Each applicant submits the following documents:
1. An application form (can be obtained in the Consulate) in which the motives for obtaining Polish citizenship have to be specified.
2. A certified copy of a document verifying the applicant’s identity and citizenship (a passport and/or a naturalization certificate).
3. A certified copy of a Polish temporary or a permanent residence permit, if a permission to reside in Poland for a specified period of time (a temporary residence permit) or a permission to settle (a permanent residence permit) was granted to an applicant,
4. A certified copy of birth certificate.
5. A certified copy of marriage certificate or any other document certifying alien’s marital status.
6. A curriculum vitae (resume, short biography), signed by an applicant, containing the following information: place and date of birth; names and a surname as stated in the birth certificate; parents’ names; marital status; learned and practiced profession; position held; the last place of stay in Poland (with an accurate address, if applicable); the date of leaving Poland; information about documents on the basis of which an applicant departed from Poland; a date and a place of a marriage ceremony; personal details concerning spouse and children; countries of previous residence before coming to the United States; any other information proving ties with Poland; name and surname changes; information about military service.
7. A written statement signed by the applicant, stating whether the applicant had ever applied for Polish citizenship in the past.
8. A document stating either lack of, exemption, or renouncement of Polish citizenship, if the applicant or his/ her parents were Polish citizens; or certified copies of documents granting Polish citizenship, if it is specified by an international agreement.
9. A passport photo.
10. A written statement, signed by the applicant, stating his or her knowledge of the percepts of law concerning the citizenship presently held by her/him (legal consequences of the acquisition of Polish citizenship).

Additional documentation if the application includes children under eighteen years old:
a) If both parents apply for Polish citizenship – enclose a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate.
b) If only one parent applies for Polish citizenship – enclose a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate and a document signed by the other parent granting his/her consent to naturalization (in a form of a statement signed in the presence of the Consul of the Republic of Poland) if the other parent is a Polish citizen.
c) If a child is over sixteen years old – enclose a certified copy of a birth certificate and a statement written by the child agreeing to naturalization.

PROCESSING TIME

Processing time for the procedure granting Polish citizenship runs from the moment of submission of the complete documentation to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration in Warsaw. Decision is usually made within 24-36 months since the moment of applications.

Notes:

The Applicant should contact a Polish Consul in person;
• All forms and declarations should be filled in the Polish language and contain a date and an applicant’s signature.
• All documents in a foreign language should be certified and translated into Polish by a certified translator and are subject of certification in the Consulate General in New York.
• Documents submitted to the Consulate will not be returned and cannot be used for any other purposes.
• Consular fees are paid on initiation of the procedure. Regardless of the result of the whole procedure, fees are not returned.
• If both spouses apply for Polish citizenship each of them fills in a separate application, writes his/ her own curriculum vitae and encloses all documents separately.
• After the verification of the application, the Consulate (or any other Polish authorities) may require additional documents.
• The procedure will be initiated (all merits and documents of the case considered) only after submission of a complete documentation. If an applicant is unable to prepare all documentation properly (e.g. does not speak the Polish language, or does not know how to obtain all required documents) she/he may require legal assistance of a professional lawyer.