The 2023 Roadmap to Gaining Polish Citizenship by Descent - Step 1 and 2: Getting Started

March 2, 2023 Neil Kaplan

Would you like to live, study and/or work in 26 European countries?

Would you like to send your kids and grandkids to European college or university for little or no cost?

How about a summer or full-time job for your kids in Europe?

How about never again waiting in a European passport queue?

Would you like visa free access to 128 countries including the USA?

If you have a Polish background, you may already be a Polish citizen and qualify for a Polish passport.

A Polish passport allows you to work, live, study or even retire and study in every country in the European Union.

The process of confirming your Polish citizenship and obtaining a Polish passport is complicated. Since 2016, PolandPassport.com has been helping our clients from all over the world confirm Polish citizenship and qualify for a Polish passport. We are proud to help our clients in obtaining a citizenship confirmation that changes lives.

This is The 2023 Roadmap to Gaining Polish Citizenship by Descent which contains much of what you need to know to begin the process to acquire Polish citizenship by descent.

Do you qualify? Take our quiz. We will evaluate your case free of charge.
Get started →

If you qualify, helping you through this process is our job. Almost 80% of our clients need additional original, documents from the Polish archives in addition to what they have. We help find these documents to prove your case.

We at PolandPassport.com are known for impeccable legal work in Poland and our commitment to our clients who are from all over the world.

For questions not covered here, contact us. We will assess your situation for free and predict your chances of succeeding. There is never obligation to proceed with our services. We only charge our clients for successful outcomes. Of course, we proceed with the utmost in confidentiality.

Neil Kaplan, CEO and Founder
PolandPassport.com
Los Angeles Warsaw Lodz
neilkaplan@polandpassport.com
January 2023

The 2023 Roadmap to Gaining Polish Citizenship by Descent
Step 1 and Step 2: Getting Started

Step 1
What are the Rewards and Plusses of Polish Citizenship?

Step 2
What are the Qualifications for Polish Citizenship by Descent?

See the other Steps of our Series:

The 2023 Roadmap to Gaining Polish Citizenship by Descent
Steps 3, 4, 5 and 6: Sorting Out the Details and Process

Step 3
Polish Citizenship by Descent - How do I Apply?

Step 4
How Do I Get My Passport After Becoming a Citizen?

Step 5
What are My Options if I don’t Qualify for Polish Citizenship by Descent?

Step 6
How Does PolandPassport.com Help Me in Acquiring Polish Citizenship by Descent?

The 2023 Roadmap to Gaining Polish Citizenship by Descent
Steps 7 to 14: How Can I Get a Polish Passport?

Step 7
What are the Fees for Your Services at PolandPassport.com?

Step 8
Are there Tax Consequences from Obtaining Polish Citizenship by Descent?

Step 9
Can Gaining Polish Citizenship by Descent Help Me with My Education?

Step 10
What are your most Frequently Asked Questions regarding Polish Citizenship by Descent?

Step 11
Can Obtaining Polish Citizenship by Descent Help My Family Legacy?

Step 12
What are Some Guidelines in Procuring the Documents that I need to Obtain Polish Citizenship by Descent?

Step 13
What are some Fun Facts about obtaining Polish citizenship?

Step 14
Who are the people behind PolandPassport.com?

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Step 1: What are the Rewards and Plusses of Polish Citizenship?

Your Polish passport is your entry into the European Union. You will work, live, retire and study anywhere in the European Union with no limitations.

Ten advantages in obtaining Polish citizenship by descent:

Give citizenship to your kids and their children.
Work and residential rights in EVERY EU country.
Visa free access to 128 countries including the US.
Low cost (often free) college education for you, your children and grandchildren.
Working for companies doing business in the EU will see your Polish passport as a significant advantage.
Qualify for jobs ineligible for non-EU citizens.
Purchase property in EVERY EU country.
Gain access to affordable (or even free) healthcare.
Social benefits for EU citizens include social security, healthcare, unemployment, pension and retirement benefits.
Financing and investment incentives typically available for startup businesses.

Are there Financial Plusses in obtaining Polish citizenship by descent?

You will have access to banking, mortgages, and investment incentives reserved for EU citizens.

How about international banking?

As an EU citizen you’ll have access to financial institutions in many countries including Switzerland and Monaco.

Can I purchase property?

You can freely buy property in all 27 EU member states. This is very difficult for foreigners.

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Step 2: What are the Qualifications for Polish Citizenship by Descent?

You already know that EU citizenship allows you to reside, study, own property and gain employment in all European Union countries.

If you gain Polish citizenship, you are a citizen of the EU.

With Polish ancestry, you can apply to have your Polish citizenship confirmed, provided you meet eligibility rules. You then apply for your Polish passport.

Confirmation of Polish citizenship occurs after the Polish government issues a Citizenship decision on your behalf. Those not born in Poland typically needs to check their Polish citizenship status (whether or not they still hold Polish citizenship).

How do I know if I qualify for Polish Citizenship by Descent?

While the rules can be quite complex, here is a simplified summary. There are other use cases but this method is most common.

First, you need to have at least one Polish ancestor. They need to have been born in Poland (or an area that used to be defined as Poland) and lived there after 1920. You will need to prove, at a minimum, that your ancestor was a Polish citizen after 1920.

Proving citizenship provenance of your Polish ancestor is done in a variety of ways – most frequently through finding original, Polish documents related to birth, marriage, voting records or a significant number of alternative methods. Many of our clients start by having at least some of these documents: old passports, birth records, marriage records and Polish army documents. Our research team are quite familiar with archives in dozens of cities and towns. They get to work to ‘fill in the gaps.’ About 80% of our clients need some additional, original documents from the Polish archives beyond what they have in order to prove their case.

There are twists, turns and complications in Polish citizenship law and there are many ways that you can be disqualified including service in a foreign military, holding public office outside of Poland, adoption and many others.

As just a single example, you will need to provide evidence that your ancestor did not lose citizenship by holding public office. For example, if she was a teacher, or public official, or any number of jobs that may be publicly funded outside of Poland- this could possibly disqualify your ancestor. This is one of many exceptions.

You must prove an unbroken ‘chain’ to your Polish citizen ancestor. Building this unbroken chain with original, Polish documents is your key to proving your citizenship.

Helping our clients through this complex process is what we do.

If you have Polish ancestors but if you are not sure if you qualify: Take our quiz about your background. We will evaluate for you free of charge: https://www.polandpassport.com/take-the-citizenship-quiz

If you do qualify, helping our clients through this complex process is our reason for being. We are well known for the impeccable quality of our legal work in Poland and our ‘concierge’ customer care. We have clients in over a dozen countries.

Is there a limit of generations that I can ‘look back’ to qualify for Polish citizenship?

No. Any direct line can qualify as long as there are records confirming citizenship after 1920.

Is having a Polish birth certificate from a grandparent enough to prove Polish citizenship?

No. This is a frequent area of misunderstanding. Just being born in Poland or having a Polish birth certificate alone does not prove citizenship. US law, for example, is very different. If you do have that birth certificate, though, it is an excellent start, so hold onto that Polish birth certificate. It will certainly help.

My spouse is Polish, can I qualify for Polish citizenship?

No. Polish citizenship is not acquired through marriage. You can reside in very EU country with your spouse with the same rights. Your children, however, will typically qualify subject to some important exceptions.

If I apply for Polish citizenship, can my children or grandchildren apply for Polish citizenship as well?

If your children (or grandchildren) are minors under 18, their applications can be submitted for all members of the family concurrently. Each application must be completed and will be resolved based on the decision of the direct ancestor.

That means that a single mistake in any one of the applications will affect all the other applications and typically will cause all of them to be rejected.

Applying for all family members concurrently makes the process faster and more efficient but requires a lot of experience and precision.

Please note that it’s generally ok to ‘skip’ a generation. For example, if you qualify from a grandparent, your father does NOT need to apply for himself.

Subsequent to gaining citizenship, every person will need to individually apply for passports.

There are complications for children subject to these circumstances:

Adoption: Adopted children in many cases cannot claim a right to Polish citizenship through descent. Those cases have to be individually evaluated. We specialize in this type of evaluation.

Children born out of wedlock: Rules regarding citizenship for children whose parents never married are extremely complicated and are beyond the scope of this document.

If you fall into either of these cases, there may be more options available to you: Please contact us at info@polandpassport.com and we will professionally evaluate your details.

Can other family members apply with me for Polish citizenship? Can I use the same application?

Every living family member in a direct line between you and your Polish ancestor are likely eligible.

Are you are married or have dependents? Your spouse can get a residence permit to live with you and likely qualifies for work permits as well in another EU jurisdiction. You and your children are eligible for citizenship.

Applying with siblings or cousins is often an efficient idea. You only need one set of ‘original’ documents.

Do I need to speak Polish to become a citizen?

Thankfully, no. It is not necessary to speak Polish to claim Polish citizenship. There is no requirement to speak Polish, however, if you decide to prepare a citizenship application on your own without help - you will need a very advanced level of Polish, as the whole legal process is carried out in Polish.

Are there any residency requirements to become a Polish citizen?

No. A citizen by ancestry has no residency requirement.

Can I apply for Polish citizenship by myself in English?

Applications must be submitted solely in Polish. Official documents, application forms, statements and archival records must be translated into Polish by a translator with special accreditation by the Polish government. It’s easy to go down the wrong path here and it can be a real source of frustration.

If you are not sure if you qualify for Polish citizenship by Descent, take our quiz. All evaluations are free of charge.