Requirements to Get Polish Citizenship
After we confirm your eligibility, it’s time to gather your supporting documents! The documents that each person needs in order to confirm their Polish citizenship can be broken down into three categories.
Three Types of Documents
- Your Ancestor’s Documents: Polish documents that prove your ancestor held Polish citizenship
- Foreign Documents that prove your ancestor did not lose their citizenship and that the chain of citizenship was not broken in subsequent generations.
- Your Documents: Documents that establish your family line and prove you are connected to your ancestor(s)
If you don’t have all of the required documents, you can still get Polish Citizenship!
We can help you find the missing, lost, or incomplete Polish documents via state archives in Poland, former Polish territories, and in surrounding countries.
Want to find out which documents you need?
Take our Free Citizenship Eligibility Test now!
1) Your Ancestor's Documents
From the Polish government’s perspective, the most important aspect of your case is the Polish documents you present.
What we mean by “Your Ancestor’s Documents” are documents that were issued by Polish authorities after 1920 that prove that your ancestors were Polish citizens.
Your ancestor’s Polish documents will be required whether you are trying to get Polish citizenship through parents, grandparents, or another ancestral line.
Documents That Prove Citizenship of Your Ancestors:
- Copies of Polish ID cards, passports, travel documents, military books, and other identity cards
- Polish civil acts, such as birth and marriage certificates
- Documents that establish your family line and prove you are connected to your ancestor(s)
- Military documents (i.e. enlistments)
- Documents that prove military service, position, employment
- Proof of residence, residence registration cards
- Extracts from Registers of Permanent Residents
- Electoral polls to the Polish Parliament and local authorities
- Entries in property registers
- Notarial deeds
- Certificates of good standing/police clearance certificates
- Medical, school and other official certificates
- Documents that prove the confirmation/recognition of Polish citizenship
If you do not have Polish documents, you need to first search and obtain them from archives in Poland, Germany, Belarus, Ukraine, or Lithuania (depending on where your family is from).
We have relationships with several archives and institutions in Poland and abroad and can obtain certified copies of the documents you need within 3 months.
Note: According to Polish law, an application that is not supported by the appropriate Polish documents will not be accepted.
2) Foreign Documents
Foreign documents that prove the chain of citizenship was not broken. Each applicant is required by law to prove that none of their Polish ancestors lost Polish citizenship.
If you had an ancestor who emigrated, resided, and/or naturalized in another country, you need to acquire the relevant documents issued by that country.
Documents That Prove Citizenship Was Not Lost:
- Naturalization documents
- Documentation of military service before January 19, 1951
- Documents proving jobs held before January 19, 1951
3) Your Documents
Documents that show your family line and prove you are connected to an ancestor that has Polish citizenship.
These are usually the easiest documents to obtain. They show your family line and prove that you are connected to an ancestor that has Polish citizenship.
These documents are important for all applicants, whether you are trying to get Polish citizenship through parents, grandparents, great grandparents or another line.
- Your birth, marriage, and divorce certificates
- Your parents and grandparents birth, marriage, divorce certificates
- Notarized copy of your passport
- Name change certificates (if applicable)
Why Are Polish Documents Important?
The most important aspect of confirming your Polish citizenship are your Polish documents. Documents are the backbone of your case.
They prove that 1) your ancestor held Polish citizenship, 2) your ancestor never lost their Polish citizenship, and 3) you are connected to your ancestor by blood.
In 2011, the Polish government passed new legislation making process of acquiring Polish citizenship more difficult.
Today, Polish citizenship applications that do not have proper supporting documents will not be accepted for processing. In other words, making sure you have the correct and complete set of documents is of utmost importance – because without supporting documents, you cannot obtain Polish citizenship.
How To Obtain Polish Citizenship
The laws and procedures for obtaining Polish citizenship can be complex and there are many details that often get overlooked, even by Polish consulates and law firms, resulting in unnecessary denials when citizenship should have been awarded.
The best way to get started is with our Ultimate Guide To Obtaining Polish Citizenship, which is available for download right now.
- Save money and time by collecting your documents first!
- Full list of all personal documents you will need to collect
- Full list of all ancestral documents you will need to provide
- Full list of all documents you will need to have authenticated
- Plus receive our Polish Family History Worksheet for Free
Do You Have The Necessary Documents to Get Started?
The procedures for obtaining Polish citizenship can be complex and there are many details that often get overlooked. One of the most common failures is not having the right documents from the beginning, this can be a costly and time consuming mistake to fix.
That’s exactly why we created the Polish Citizenship Applicant Checklist, to breakdown all of the documents you need so you can save money from the outset.
Click the link below to take a closer look at the Polish Citizenship Applicant Checklist and to get started on your journey of claiming Polish citizenship!
- Save money and time by collecting your documents first!
- Full list of all personal documents you will need to collect
- Full list of all ancestral documents you will need to provide
- Full list of all documents you will need to have authenticated
- Plus receive our Polish Family History Worksheet for Free
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