If you are looking for options on how to confirm your Polish citizenship, likely it means you found out that by the fact that someone in your family was Polish, you have a right to confirm Polish citizenship for yourself or for your child. If you are not sure if you are eligible for Polish citizenship by descent, contact our Polish citizenship experts for a free assessment of your case via our Contact Form.
Why is it worth confirming your Polish citizenship? What are the privileges of becoming a Polish citizen? How can you benefit from becoming a Polish citizen? Here we have a list of the most interesting facts about Polish citizenship.
1. Being Polish, makes you European Union citizen
When you have Polish citizenship, you are a citizen of the European Union. Poland has been a member of the European Union since 2004 so being a Polish citizen makes you automatically a citizen of the EU. Citizenship of the European Union gives several rights and privileges that you can benefit from in any of the 27 member countries.
2. Smooth travelling within Europe with no border controls
There are no border controls within the European Union, so you don’t have to worry about long queues while travelling by land. In addition, countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Island, despite not being members of the EU allow EU citizens to freely access their territories.
If you come to Europe by plane, you will have a separated “EU citizens” line at the airport which guarantees quick passport control and entry to Europe. You don’t have to worry about any entry visa while travelling on your Polish passport to any of the EU countries.
3. You get access to European schools and Universities
European schools and universities offer education at a very high level. European universities including Polish ones are always high in the world rankings. You can choose from many public universities and study at minimal fee or in many cases even free of charge. Besides that, European Universities offer student’s exchange program called Erasmus. You can apply for an Erasmus scholarship and go to study abroad for a year, learn another language and culture.
4. You can live wherever you want in the European Union
European Union countries and not only are wide open for you. If you wish to reside in Italy, Germany, France or so, you can do so with much less formalities and no need for a long-term visa. Also countries like Norway, Switzerland and Island, even though they are not members of the EU, have an agreement in place allowing EU citizens to reside on their territories without any formalities. Besides that buying a property as a Polish citizen is much easier and requires less formalities. How great is that?
5. You can work wherever you want and open your own business
Now when it comes to working rights for Polish citizens in Europe, the good news is that you don’t need to apply for any working or sponsorship visa. If you have an employer in Europe willing to hire you, this makes things much easier. If you think about starting to look for a job in Europe, well, having a Polish passport will automatically put you alongside other European candidates, as your future employer will be able to hire you straight away without the often complicated and expensive working visa process. If you dream about opening your own business in Europe, again as a Polish citizen you can do so and besides that you get access to European funds for opening a new business or development of an existing one. There is a wide list of options and possibilities in the professional field in Europe for Polish citizens.
6. You can engage in European and Polish politics. You have the right to vote and be candidate.
Every citizen of the European Union has the right to vote in the elections to the European Parliament. If you wish to engage politically, you can become a candidate as well. If you are a Polish citizen and live abroad, you can vote at the nearest Polish Consulate or appointed place. In addition to that, as a Polish citizen you have a right to vote in local Polish elections.
7. Consular and diplomatic help for Polish citizens abroad
If you find yourself in trouble abroad, and there is no Polish consulate nearby, you can expect consular and diplomatic help from any consulate of the European Union country. You will have the same rights as citizens of the country of the consulate you approach. This is important in case of unexpected health issues or if you get arrested abroad.
8. The above rights extend to your closest family members
And this is a major advantage to families of Polish citizens planning to move to Europe. Your spouse, despite not being Polish, gets similar rights to yours to live and work in Europe. It is just a matter of registering her stay with local authorities of the country you decide to reside in. When it comes to your children, they can get Polish citizenship and Polish passport along with you, but in case they don’t, they can again reside and attend public schools in Europe, the same way local children do.
9. You can pass your Polish citizenship to your children, grandchildren and so on
Polish citizenship is passed by right of blood. What that means is that once you are a confirmed Polish citizen, you can pass it to your children and future generations. If you go through the process of Polish citizenship confirmation now, it will be much easier for them to confirm it in the future. You can be sure they will be gratefull for such an option and gift of dual citizenship.
If you still wonder if you should do it, or in case you have any doubts or need additional information related to the process. Contact us for a free of charge review of your case. Our friendly staff will do their best to answer any questions you may have about Polish citizenship and rights you obtain along with it.
