If you have Polish ancestry and you wonder if you are eligible to get Polish citizenship by descent, there is an easy way to do it. You first need to establish if you are eligible to confirm your Polish citizenship through ancestry and prove that Polish citizenship was held by one of your family members. Then you will also need to establish it was not lost by any of your family members related by blood to you. Polish citizenship is passed by the right of blood. What that means is if one of the parents holds Polish citizenship, it is passed to the child irrespective of whether the child was born in Poland or abroad.
Who is eligible to get Polish citizenship by descent?
To be able to start establishing your eligibility for Polish citizenship by descent, you need to have at least one Polish ancestor. It could be your parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or even further ancestor. Yes, you can confirm your Polish citizenship by descent after your great-grandparent, but it is important to also locate evidence that confirms Polish citizenship was not lost later by any of his or her descendants. That is something we will check with you.
Another important aspect of the eligibility process is the date when your Polish ancestor left Poland and Polish territory. The crucial date is the 20th of January 1920. If your Polish ancestor left territories that belonged to Poland after this day, they held Polish citizenship and Polish passports, and likely, Polish citizenship was passed to you by the right of blood (ius sanguinis).
What documents are required for Polish citizenship application?
Each Polish citizenship case is assessed individually, and an individual list of documents needs to be prepared for each Polish citizenship applicant. Since we claim Polish citizenship by descent, we need vital records linking you to your Polish ancestry such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc. We will also need to provide documents confirming Polish citizenship of your Polish ancestor, such as a Polish id, old and expired Polish passports, or in the case of male ancestor this can be for example documents confirming service in the Polish army. Finally, we would also need documents confirming Polish citizenship was not lost by any of your family members linking you to your Polish ancestor (grandparent, parent, and you). In case you don’t have any or enough evidence to confirm and prove your ancestor was a Polish citizen, we will first offer you research towards Polish citizenship and try to locate required evidence in Poland. We will address respective archives and institutions to obtain certified copies of your family record to support your Polish citizenship claim.
While talking to our clients, we ask many questions to get to know about their Polish ancestors, and this allows us to establish eligibility for Polish citizenship through descent. The more information we have, the better the process. Even if you don’t have all the details at hand, talk to your parents, grandparents, and other family members, go through the family archive, send us documents from your own country such as immigration lists, naturalization documents. They may contain many useful information that will allow us to find best option for you.
At the end of the process, what you receive from us is a complete set of documents. That means, you are ready to apply for your Polish passport. It is also necessary to register the applicant’s vital records in Poland, such as birth certificate, marriage certificate, and divorce (if applicable). Therefore, several personal documents of yours will be needed for your Polish citizenship by descent application.
How to lodge Polish citizenship by descent application?
There is a list of requirements that one needs to fulfill to lodge Polish citizenship by descent application. Based on conversations and communication with you, we will prepare a list of necessary documents that will be required from your side for lodgement with the Polish Government. Once you authorize us to act on your behalf in Poland in matters related to Polish citizenship, we will lodge it directly with the Voivodeship Office. This way we can ensure your case will be safe, well prepared, and successful.
We manage your case directly from Poland, responding immediately to any additional requests or questions from the clerk managing your Polish citizenship application.
You can also be sure we will be regularly checking on the status of your application and inform you immediately about any updates. We act whenever there is an additional request for documents or information so we can assure you that your case will be managed in a timely manner.
Polish citizenship by descent after great - grandparent
Even though it may seem like distant history, you really can go up to your great-grandparent to confirm your Polish citizenship by descent. What does it mean in practice? You need their details, such as names, dates, places of births, and most importantly, the date when they left Polish territory. If you have any of their Polish documents, great! We will review them and confirm if these are enough to start the Polish citizenship application process. If you do not have any Polish documents, do not worry. We can help you to locate necessary documents confirming they were Polish citizens. The next step would be to get the information about your family members linking you to your great grandparents eg. Your grandparents, then your parents, and finally yourself. We will ask you a specific set of questions that will allow us to confirm if you are eligible to go ahead with your Polish citizenship by descent application. There are many dates, facts we need to check, but you can count on us, years of our experience, and knowledge about Polish citizenship law.
Check: Polish Citizenship Test
You are still not sure if you are eligible to confirm your Polish citizenship by descent
If you are still not sure if you are eligible or need to verify further information to confirm your citizenship, contact our friendly team of Polish Citizenship Experts. We will be able to guide you on what is required and assess your case free of charge. We will be able to review the documents and evidence you have, and in case needed, conduct research to locate records confirming your eligibility for Polish citizenship by descent. The initial consultation is free of charge, and you don’t have to worry about any hidden cost. Once we are sure we can offer you research or/and assistance with Polish citizenship confirmation, we will issue you with a non-obligatory quote for your consideration. Then we will formally start working on your case.
