Research towards Polish Citizenship

In Poland, since the first citizenship Act in 1920, the rule of the right of blood (citizenship is acquired by birth from at least one parent) has been in force to this day.  According to it, kinship has to be proven through all generations up to the applicant himself. As a rule, the basic document confirming kinship is a birth certificate. Moreover, the provisions of the Act of 1920 made the acquisition of Polish citizenship dependent on the child’s marital origins, so that a legitimate child acquired the citizenship of the father, while an illegitimate one acquired that of the mother. This means that it is not enough to find the birth certificate of an ancestor from before 1951, but also the marriage certificate of his/her parents. This determines from which parent the ancestor acquired Polish citizenship and on which parent research for Polish documents will be our focus.

The research for vital records will first serve to prove your kinship to the Polish ancestor whose Polish citizenship you inherited in accordance with the principle of the right of blood. Then, if your ancestor was born between 1920 and 1951 – i.e. during the period in which the first Citizenship Act of the Polish State was in force – they will enable you to establish whether he or she was a wedded or illegitimate child, and thus on which of his or her parents you should base your search for documents confirming his or her Polish citizenship.

The original composition of citizens of the Polish State was determined by the first Act on Citizenship of the Polish State of 1920. The latter was based on the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which linked the acquisition of Polish citizenship with permanent residence (domiciles) on territory that was or was to be considered Polish. It is necessary to prove, from the point of view of the first Citizenship Act, the permanent residence of one’s ancestors in the territory that became the territory of the Second Republic after the First World War. The legal belonging to the territory in question is essential. Since the Second Republic of Poland consisted of three annexed territories, and each of them had a different legal regime allowing for the establishment of a person’s belonging to a given territory, each time a different type of documents should be searched.

Moreover, during the period when the first Citizenship Act was in force (1920-1951), citizens were not obliged, to have an identity card, so until 1939 the basic circumstance proving one’s Polish citizenship was still permanent residence in Poland. Additionally, the possession of Polish citizenship may also be evidenced by registration on the conscription list and service in the Polish army, passive or active participation in elections to the Parliament or Senate, and, after World War II, repatriation or participation in the so-called people’s referendum in 1946.