Live in Europe – Five to Europe

Polish citizenship for Americans with Polish ancestry

Barbara Cebula — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:42:33 +0000

The emigration of Polish people to the United States is a story of resilience, hope, and the pursuit of a better life. Over the past centuries, millions of Poles have left their homeland to seek new opportunities across the Atlantic, transforming both their own lives and the fabric of American society. Americans, with Polish roots whose ancestors left Poland after 1920 can apply for Polish citizenship by descent which opens many gates to live, work and study in Europe without any visas and limits.

Early Waves of Emigration

Polish emigration to the United States can be traced back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the first significant wave occurring in the aftermath of the Partitions of Poland (1772-1795), when the Polish state was divided and ceased to exist. During this period, many Poles fled the political turmoil and repression under foreign rulers, seeking freedom and security in the New World.

The 19th century saw a second wave of Polish immigration, mainly driven by: economic hardship, and the aftermath of failed uprisings against foreign occupation. The most notable of these was the 1830 November Uprising, which spurred thousands to leave Poland and settle in the U.S. Polish-Americans began to form tight-knit communities in cities like Chicago, New York, and Buffalo, contributing to the cultural and social fabric of the country.

The Industrial Boom and Mass Migration

The late 19th and early 20th centuries marked a peak in Polish emigration, as millions sought refuge in America during the Industrial Revolution. Poland, still under foreign occupation, was experiencing political repression and economic struggle. Meanwhile, the U.S. offered the promise of jobs, land, and the chance to build a better future.

Polish immigrants, many of them farmers or manual labourers, found work in factories, steel mills, and coal mines, especially in cities like Pittsburgh and Detroit. The rapid urbanization and industrialization of the U.S. provided opportunities for hard-working immigrants to improve their economic status and establish a strong sense of community.

The Role of Polish Americans in Shaping the U.S.

Polish-Americans established churches, social clubs, and fraternal organizations, helping to preserve their language, traditions, and customs for future generations. The Polish community also became a driving force in advocating for the rights of immigrants and workers. The labour movement in the U.S. saw many Polish immigrants at the forefront of strikes and protests, fighting for better working conditions and wages.

Post-World War II Emigration and the Changing Landscape

After World War II, another wave of Polish immigrants arrived in the U.S. due to political instability and the Soviet occupation of Poland. The post-war period saw thousands of displaced persons, including Polish refugees, coming to America. These immigrants brought with them the scars of war but also a deep sense of gratitude and determination to rebuild their lives.

In the 1980s, during the rise of the Solidarity movement under Lech Wałęsa, Poland saw significant political and economic upheaval. As a result, many Poles once again sought refuge in the U.S.

Polish citizenship by descent for Americans with Polish heritage

If you are an American citizen with Polish ancestry, and if at least one of your ancestors was born in Poland or its former territories, and resided there after 1920, likely she or he was a Polish citizen and so you are. You just need to prove that with documented evidence and confirm that citizenship was not lost by any of your ancestors linking you to the last one who left Poland and that it was passed to you. If you are eligible, you need to lodge a Polish citizenship confirmation application and register your vital records in Poland. Once this process is finalised, applying for a Polish passport is just a formality as you need to show up with a set of your Polish documents at the Polish Consulate and leave your fingerprints, as Polish passports are biometric.

Getting a Polish passport is very convenient for you to confirm your Polish citizenship and apply for a Polish passport, which equals the passport of the European Union. This way, you can secure yourself and your family members, children and grandchildren an easy access to the European job market and visa free travels.

With a Polish passport you can reside anywhere within the European Union and buy property which has much less formalities. You can hold dual citizenship, American and Polish citizenship and depending on the situation, you can use whichever passport is more convenient.

A Polish passport will allow you to stay in the European Union for more than 90 days without a need for you to leave the Schengen zone. If you would like to spend your retirement in Europe, it is worth considering applying for your Polish citizenship confirmation and getting a Polish passport.

Contact us for a FREE consultation:

If you are not sure if the evidence you have is enough to support your Polish citizenship claim, please contact us for a free consultation. We will assess your situation and advice on the best next steps for you. We can manage the entire process for you and on your behalf from Poland.

How British citizens with Polish roots can get EU citizenship and Polish passport

Barbara Cebula — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 14:57:56 +0000

How did Brexit impact British citizens in the European Union?

With the Brexit vote, the United Kingdom withdrew their membership from the European Union. British citizens who still wish to work, study or travel in the EU, need to follow a different process. That means they would need to legally register as a resident or in some cases, apply for a visa or work permit.

British citizens of Polish descent can confirm their Polish citizenship and apply for a Polish passport which is a passport of European Union

If you are a British citizen, you may wonder how to keep European Union citizenship after Brexit and have easy access to the EU job market, freedom of travel across the Schengen Zone. If you have Polish roots, your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were born in Poland, there is a chance you too have acquired Polish citizenship and you are eligible to confirm Polish citizenship. This way you can get a Polish passport which is also a passport of the European Union and get rights of the EU citizen for yourself and your family members.

What is the process of confirming Polish citizenship via descent for British people with Polish ancestry?

The Act on Polish Citizenship of 2 April 2009 makes it possible to obtain confirmation of Polish citizenship by decision issued by the Voivodeship Office, in case you never lived in Poland, Masovian Voivodeship Office in Warsaw. In order to obtain such a document confirming your Polish citizenship, you have to file an application and prove that you have acquired Polish citizenship by the ‘right of blood’ from your Polish ancestor. You also need to prove you have not lost Polish citizenship by the time of filing the application.

How can you verify whether you have acquired Polish citizenship?

When determining whether you currently possess Polish citizenship, you need to refer not only to the current Polish Citizenship Act but also to the number of legal regulations which are no longer in force but were applicable to your Polish ancestors depending on their date of birth. These Acts are relevant for the assessment of whether they acquired or/and lost Polish citizenship. The Polish Citizenship Acts are as following:

the Act on Polish Citizenship of 20 January 1920,
the Act on Polish Citizenship of 8 January 1951,
the Act on Polish Citizenship of 16 February 1962.

Polish citizenship of your ancestor will need to be checked against the Act, which was in force when he or she was born and it needs to be proved, Polish citizenship was not lost on the way by any of your Polish ancestors directly linked to you.

What do you need to do to proceed with the Polish citizenship application?

You need to determine after which of your Polish ancestors you can confirm your Polish citizenship, e.g. your mother or father, your paternal or maternal grandfather or grandmother or their parents. Later on, you have to verify if further descendants of that person (your other ascendants) also held Polish citizenship, e.g. your father who was the son of a Polish grandfather. You have to prove that the possession of Polish citizenship was continuous among your ascendants in a straight line linking you to a person about whom you know that she or he had Polish citizenship.

How can you make the Polish citizenship process and application easy and hassle free?

Why should I confirm my Polish citizenship, become a Polish citizen and obtain a Polish passport?

Barbara Cebula — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 11:17:51 +0000

If you have Polish ancestry, there is a chance you are eligible to obtain Polish citizenship by descent and get a Polish passport. There is a list of requirements you and your ancestors need to meet to prove that Polish citizenship was not lost, and a set of evidence you need to provide in the form of certified or original documents. If you wonder if you should do that, below you can find additional information that should convince you!

1. You will become a Polish citizen, but in addition to that also a European Citizen.

That gives you access to the entire European Union and much easier residential and visa requirements in other countries which may not be a part of the EU but are still in Europe. Basically, being Polish opens your European door!

2. You can travel freely within Europe (Schengen zone border-free area) and not only.

No more queuing at the airport before “Other countries” sign. Once you are in the Schengen zone; you are a European Union citizen and that gives you the right of free movement. There are also no border controls while you travel by land. Sometimes you don’t even realize you crossed the border already and are in a different country.

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3. You can live anywhere within the EU.

A Polish passport gives you freedom to reside anywhere in Europe. You just need to register your residency with the country of your choice and for that please contact local authorities. It is also much easier for Polish citizens to buy a property in Europe. Besides that, if you decide to spend your retirement somewhere in Greece or Italy, guess what? You can!

4. You can work anywhere within the EU and some non-EU countries like Norway, Switzerland among others.

Once you are a Polish passport holder, the European job market is widely open for you. You just need to apply for a job and get it. Your employer will not need to sponsor you or acquire a job permit, you as a Polish and European citizen can work without any visa or time limits.

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5. You can pass it to your children and grandchildren and so on.

Yes, once you are eligible for Polish citizenship confirmation by descent, so are your children and your further descendants in the future. Think about securing access to public European universities and the job market for them. They will also be able to freely backpack through Europe without a need for a visa and requirement to leave after 90 days. They will be grateful! If you are a Polish citizen, and if you just got a child, think about securing Polish citizenship and Polish passport for him or her.

6. Your spouse, despite not being a Polish citizen, gets equal rights to yours to work and reside in Europe.

Polish citizenship cannot be passed via marriage, however, in case you are married, and once you are a Polish passport holder, your spouse gets the same rights as yours to reside and work in any European country. You just need to follow the regulations in the country of your choice, register your spouse residency with the appropriate authorities, and she or he is free to stay with you. There are some options for obtaining citizenship by naturalization after a certain period, but this is a different procedure to Polish citizenship confirmation by descent and different rules and requirements apply in case of naturalization across Europe. Learn more about family members rights from our FAQs section.

7. Your other family members are also eligible to confirm their Polish citizenship.

Once we establish after whom we could confirm your Polish citizenship by descent, all your family members that are directly related to him or her, are eligible for Polish citizenship confirmation along with you. You only need one Polish ancestor; you need to prove lineage and confirm he or she did not lose Polish citizenship and passed it to you. All descendants of your Polish ancestor, such as your siblings, cousins, parents, aunts, and uncles can confirm Polish citizenship as well and become Polish citizens. If you are a confirmed Polish citizen, it is enough to give us your consent to use your file, and your research findings, and we will be able to use it to your other family members.

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8. Once you are a Polish citizen you can study for free at many public universities or get reduced fees.

Many public universities across Europe offer free education to European Union citizens. By being a Polish citizen and Polish passport holder, you can either study for free or at reduced tuition fees. A Polish passport also gives you an opportunity to apply for European Union programs organized by the European Union such as student’s exchange or doctors’ exchange. Once you are Polish and a European citizen, you can apply to study at many prestigious European universities, not only in Poland.

9. You get the benefits of double citizenship and you can use whichever passport is more convenient while applying for visas or entering countries outside Europe (e.g. Asia).

One you have your Polish passport issued to you, you get the full package of rights that goes along with it. As a Polish citizen, it will be easier for you to travel to and within Europe. But not only. When you travel outside Europe, check visa requirements as Polish passport holders have visa free entry to many countries. For instance, in some cases it may be more convenient for you to use a Polish passport while travelling to Asia than the passport you currently hold. Just use whichever is better for you and enjoy the benefits of being Polish dual citizen.

If you would like to learn more about Polish citizenship confirmation, please feel free to contact our Polish citizenship experts.

We will be more than happy to assess your situation, advise on the best possible option for you and give you details about next steps.

How to get in touch with Polish Citizenship Experts:

Contact us for a free consultation and confirmation of your eligibility for Polish citizenship by descent. You can fill in our Contact Form on our website, send us an email at contact@fivetoeurope.com or give us a call phone / WhatsApp / Signal + 48 509 374 209

Brexit and British citizens of Polish descent

Barbara Cebula — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

How did the Polish ancestors of British citizens land in the United Kingdom?

In the United Kingdom there is a big population of British Poles, British citizens of Polish descent. Many of their ancestors settled down in the UK after World War II. There were Polish soldiers, servicemen, and women, who fought alongside allied forces, Polish military personnel, Polish survivors of German concentration and POW camps. After WWII ended, many of them did not want to or could not return to Poland, due to the fact that Poland became a communist country and Soviet repressions of Poles. As there were soldiers and former members of the Home Army, they were often at risk to be oppressed and be executed by the Soviets.

Initially, a large Polish community cantered around near military camps, where military personnel had been stationed during the war. Later on, once they felt more comfortable and used to British civil life, they spread out across the country.

Great Britain offered shelter and a new home to Polish families and Polish soldiers fighting during the war under the British Command. After a couple of years of living in the UK, most of them took British citizenship by naturalization but that did not cause loss of Polish citizenship. Polish citizenship, unless renounced intentionally, was kept by them and passed to their descendants, children and grandchildren, who now can go through the process of Polish citizenship confirmation and get a Polish passport.

British citizens with Polish descent living in the UK

Nowadays, lots of descendants of Polish soldiers, military personnel, and war refugees live in the UK. They are grandchildren or great-grandchildren of Polish war heroes, who can obtain Polish citizenship after their Polish ancestors and this way guarantee themselves free access to the European Union.

There are several archives and institutions in the UK which keep records about Polish soldiers and pilots such as The Ministry of The Defence. They often have books of soldiers, confirming military service history, details such as date and place of birth, family members details. Records confirming military service in the Polish Resettlement Corps often confirm Polish citizenship of your ancestor and are a great source of additional information in case additional research is needed in Poland. If you have them already, you can send them to us at contact@fivetoeurope.com for a review. After seeing them, we will be able to confirm if you are eligible for Polish citizenship by descent and advice what else (if anything) will be needed in addition to support your Polish citizenship claim.

Why is it worth confirming Polish citizenship for British citizens?

With the Brexit vote, the United Kingdom withdrew its membership from the European Union. British citizens who still wish to work, study, or travel in the EU will need to follow a different process. That means they would need to legally register as a resident or in some cases, apply for a visa or work permit.

Therefore, if you are a British citizen with Polish ancestry, it is very convenient for you to confirm your Polish citizenship and apply for a Polish passport, which equals the passport of the European Union. This way, you can secure yourself and your family members, children and grandchildren an easy access to the European job market and visa free travels. In the future, if you or anyone from your family, decides to move abroad, Polish citizenship will also be helpful. With a Polish passport you can reside anywhere within the European Union and buy property which has much less formalities. You can hold dual citizenship, British and Polish citizenship and depending on the situation, you can use whichever passport is more convenient.

A Polish passport will allow you to stay in the European Union for more than 90 days without a need for you to leave the Schengen zone. If you would like to spend your retirement in one of the European Union countries, it is worth considering applying for your Polish citizenship confirmation and getting a Polish passport as a result of it.

Process of confirming Polish citizenship for a British citizen with Polish ancestry – what do you need to know?

Contact us for a free consultation of your situation, and we will closely check your case and your Polish ancestor’s details. We will analyse your family immigration history and check your eligibility for a Polish citizenship application. Depending on whether you have enough Polish documents or not, we will conduct research across archives in Poland and the UK to search for documents oriented towards Polish citizenship confirmation.

How to get in touch with Polish Citizenship Experts:

Get a free consultation and confirmation of your eligibility for Polish citizenship by descent. You can fill in our Contact Form on our website, send us an email at contact@fivetoeurope.com or give us a call phone / WhatsApp / Signal + 48 509 374 209

Polish Armed Forces in the East. Anders Army and how it impacted Polish citizens

Marta Daszkiewicz-Daniszewska — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 16:07:00 +0000

You could say that the difference between citizenship and nationality is an invention of philosophers. It caused an extremely important political dispute in 1941, impacting the fate of many Poles, who after the outbreak of World War II were sent to prisoner-of-war camps in the east.

How did General Anders Army save Polish POWs?

General Anders Army had a chance to save tens of thousands of Polish citizens with the consent of the USSR, which was just invaded by Germany. However, the USSR authorities tried to limit the recruitment to the Anders Army only to people holding Polish citizenship, depriving the Poles of Ukrainian, Byelorussian, and Jewish nationality of their salvation.

The General Anders Army’s conscription committees disregarded the Soviet authorities and accepted Polish citizens regardless of their nationality. Many families were rescued by these actions and the Anders Army also took care of Polish women and children, including orphans.

Tens of thousands of people walked the so-called Trail of Hope, through Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, and Italy to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Allied forces.

Eventually many Polish soldiers ended up in the United Kingdom where they settled down, had families, and lived all over the UK. Maybe your father or grandfather was one of them?

If you are still not sure of the origin of your ancestors and do not know whether you have a chance to apply for Polish citizenship, please contact us. We will help you with the necessary formalities so you can enjoy having your Polish passport.

On the trail of refugee camps to Great Britain

Marta Daszkiewicz-Daniszewska — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 22:33:00 +0000

On the trail of refugee camps to Great Britain

During World War II, several hundred thousand Poles were deported into far away Russian territory. Russia occupied the eastern part of Poland and imprisoned many people. After the Sikorski-Majski Agreement was signed in July 1941, many Polish citizens were released from the camps in Siberia and Kazakhstan. Poles began their journey towards the places where the Polish Army was formed under the command of General Wladyslaw Anders.

Evacuation of Polish refugees to Iran

Polish citizens were evacuated to Iran in 1942. The main route led through Turkmenistan to the camp in Iran, and further on to camps in Tehran. In total, more than 116 000 people arrived in Iran, including about 40 000 civilians. Among the evacuees were nearly 18 000 children.

Poles could not stay in Iran for long. The Polish government could only count on the help of the British in finding shelter for the Polish citizens. The British government agreed to evacuate the Polish population from Iran and created a plan for the location of settlements for Polish refugees across UK territories. Polish civils were transported by the sea to transit camps in British India and from there to India, Africa, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Journey of Polish refugees to Africa

The largest group of people went from Iran to Africa. The first transport of 1400 Polish refugees from Russia reached the port of Tanga in August 1942.

The second shipment arrived at the port of Mombasa in September. The next groups that arrived were directed to Tengeru, Kondoa, Ifunda, and Kidugala. At the end of 1944, there were a total of 13,364 people holding Polish citizenship in three countries of East Africa.

Polish settlements and living conditions in Africa

The largest Polish settlement in Tengeru had 947 houses. The housing estate in Kondoa had 20 clay barracks. The Poles living in the Ifunga housing estate had the best housing conditions – 780 people lived in 100 brick houses. About 800 Poles lived in the settlement in Kidugala. Each such housing estate was managed by a commandant. The camp director assisted him in carrying out his duties. Additional functions were appointed in the field of education, pastoral care, health care, culture, and work. Residents formed the so-called council of residents. Polish citizens have become very well organized. They opened schools, conducted cultural and sports activities, ran their own farms and developed the Polish press.

Polish citizens in Africa after the World War II

Towards the end of the war, Eastern Poland was handed over to the regime of Soviet Russia and Stalin. For many Polish abroad this meant their return to Poland was impossible, or they did not want to go back as it was dominated by communist rule. Only approx. 20% of Polish refugees from Africa, decided to return. On August 1, 1946, the financial responsibility for the maintenance of Polish settlements was taken over by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and later by the International Refugees Organization. The maintenance costs of these estates were very high, therefore some of them were closed, leaving only the Polish estates in Tengeru and Koja. In November 1947, the action of the reunification of military families began, thanks to which about 9,500 people left for England. The remaining people decided to emigrate to the United States, Argentina, Canada, France, and Australia. Few remained in Africa. The estates in Koja and Tengeru ended their activity only in 1952.

Polish passport opens your gate to European Union and Europe

Barbara Cebula — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 09:13:00 +0000

Holding Polish citizenship makes you automatically a European citizen.

Polish Citizenship is incredibly beneficial and strong citizenship to have. Along with it, you get rights to reside, travel, work, and study not only in Poland but in the whole European Union. There are also countries like Norway or Switzerland which are not part of the EU but allow their citizens to live, work, and study with much less restrictions and formal requirements than non-EU citizens.

What does it mean? You can live without any time limits and restrictions in Poland and in Europe. You can get a property in Italy or in Portugal, or that Greek cottage you have always dreamed about and spend as much time there as you wish.

Your family will get equal rights to yours

Once you hold Polish citizenship and a Polish passport, your spouse gets equal rights to yours to live and work within the European Union.

Your kids can go through the same process as you and get their own Polish passport which gives them lots of opportunities and fewer formalities. You can all enjoy the privileges of living in Europe without any time limits or visa restrictions.

If you get a job opportunity in any European Union country, guess what?

With your Polish passport, you won’t need a working visa anymore. It is enough to have a passport of any EU member country and the whole job market will be open and available for you. You just need to apply for the job! The same applies for business set up in case that is something on your radar.

Easily apply for studies at European Universities

If you or your child always wanted to study in Paris, well, being a Polish citizen and having a Polish passport can easily reduce heavy fees for non-EU citizens in most public universities across Europe. There is a long list of them that offer free education to EU citizens and again you will not need any student visa to study anywhere within the European Union.

Travel without borders and passport controls

Traveling to Europe will be easier than ever. While entering Europe you go through the „EU Citizens” line at the airport and that means no queues, quick passport control, or no passport control at all on the border if you show them your Polish passport.

While you travel within Europe by land, there are no border controls or checks. You are an EU citizen and you can enjoy freedom of traveling at its best.

Then while you travel within Europe by land, there are no borders control or checks. You are EU citizen and you can enjoy freedom of traveling at its best.

What we do at Five to Europe and how we can assist you with Polish citizenship

Barbara Cebula — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 14:49:00 +0000

Who we are and what we do

Five to Europe is a group of experts specializing in Polish citizenship and services around Polish citizenship. We offer genealogical research oriented towards Polish citizenship confirmation as well as sentimental genealogical research. We offer you end to end services, starting from a FREE assessment of your case, helping with gathering required evidence and documents, conducting research if needed, then registering vital records in Poland that are required to apply for a Polish passport, and at the end we will also assist you with Polish passport application. We know Polish citizenship law, all dependencies, dates, acts, and regulations. We can assure you, you will be in safe and professional hands.

Polish Citizenship Confirmation

If you have Polish roots (even if you were born abroad) and let’s say your parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was Polish, in all likelihood you are Polish citizen too. Based on that you can confirm your Polish citizenship and apply for a Polish passport, which is also a European one, and allows you to work, live, and study anywhere within the European Union.

We offer free eligibility assessment for Polish citizenship by descent by asking you details about your Polish ancestors, analyzing the documents you have and checking the information about your family members that are crucial to establish if you are eligible for Polish citizenship application.

Genealogy Research towards Polish Citizenship Confirmation

We search for documents and records across archives not only in Poland but if needed, also abroad. While conducting research oriented towards Polish citizenship confirmation, we focus on a specific set of documents confirming your ancestor held Polish citizenship.

We know what documents are relevant to make Polish citizenship application successful.

Sentimental Genealogy Research

In case you do not qualify for Polish citizenship confirmation (if for example, your Polish ancestors left the territory of Poland before 1920) or you are interested in finding more about your Polish ancestry, we can offer sentimental genealogical research. We will ask you to provide us with as many details as possible and agree with you on what you are interested in. Then we focus our research on the records and documents of your interest.

Vital records registration in Poland

We register all kinds of vital records on your behalf in Poland such as birth and marriage certificates, register divorce, change of name. These are needed later on in the process, once you hold a Polish citizenship. You will be required to show your original Polish vital records while applying for your Polish passport.

If you are a Polish citizen living abroad, and you got married or your child was born abroad, we can help you with foreign vital records registration in Poland.

We are familiar with all processes around vital records registration which can be problematic such as name changes and name discrepancies in various documents. We can fix everything in Poland and make sure your newly issued Polish documents are as per Polish government requirements.

To summarize

we first asses the case, if someone is eligible to go through the process of Polish citizenship confirmation,
if needed, we look for documents and records confirming Polish ancestry across archives,
we prepare Polish Citizenship confirmation application and lodge it with Polish Authorities,
in the meantime register vital records such as birth and marriage certificates etc. in Poland, which are needed to apply for Polish passport,
we can assist with Polish passport application; we give you list of documents you need to take for passport appointment to the Polish Consulate and can help you with booking an appointment.

If Polish citizenship or genealogy reserach of your Polish ancestors is on your radar, contact us for FREE assessment.

Phone +48 509 374 209
WhatsApp +48 509 374 209
contact@fivetoeurope.com

Get access to universities and study in France with your Polish passport

Dorota Dwojacka — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 15:59:00 +0000

Studying and living in France – make your dreams come true

France is not only the Eiffel Tower, cheese, and wine. It also has a great history, monuments, art and probably one of the most beautiful sounding languages in the world. Let’s be honest – everything sounds better in French, right?

In addition, France has a vast number of universities that rank very high in university rankings in the world. People holding Polish citizenship can apply to universities in EU countries. Are you ready for a new adventure? Stay with us for a moment. We will help you with applying to a French university!

How can a citizen of an EU country study in France?

There are currently over 300,000 foreign students studying in France. To study in France you do not need to know the French language. French universities offer over 1500 courses taught in English – candidates are required to have TOEFL or IELTS certificates.

Recruitment for French studies for citizens of a member country of the European Union is the same as for French citizens. Registration usually runs from mid-January to the end of March. Consultations with candidates take place starting from May till July. At most universities, students do not have to take entrance exams. Usually, schools organize certificate competitions or conduct interviews.

Register your residency and study in France

With a Polish passport, you can stay in France for 90 days without any additional formalities. However, if you start your university and plan to stay longer, you need to register your right of residence. Residence registration in France (and any other European Union country) is only a formality if you meet three basic conditions:

you have been accepted to a university,
you have sufficient financial resources to support yourself without the help of French social welfare,
you have the necessary health insurance.

How much does it cost to study in France?

Public university fees for Polish citizens are rather symbolic. Just to give you an idea about the possible cost, in the 2020/2021 academic year, undergraduate studies cost 170 euros per year and graduate studies cost 243 euros. Annual fees at technical schools are around 500 euros. Private universities have different rules and operate the same way everywhere else in the world, which means you have to pay much higher fees.

Study in France with Polish passport

If you think that studying at Sorbonne University is out of reach for you, think again. If you have Polish ancestry, you can get your Polish citizenship confirmed and get a Polish passport. We will help you with all the necessary formalities related to Polish citizenship application.

We can help you make your dreams come true.

Restoration of Polish citizenship – What is the Process and Who can do it

Barbara Cebula — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 08:19:21 +0000

Process for Restoration of Polish Citizenship – who can do it?

Restoration of Polish citizenship is a process open to people who lost or renounced Polish citizenship in the past and would like to get it back and become Polish citizens.

Starting from 15 May 2012, the process of restoration of Polish citizenship came into force and became available for a narrow group of people as a new way of acquiring Polish citizenship.

Restoration of Polish citizenship is available to people who between August 1962 and December 1998 acquired foreign citizenship and at the same time obtained permission from the Polish Consulate to change Polish citizenship into foreign citizenship, and because of that lost Polish citizenship.

The foreigners who held Polish citizenship in the past and lost it before 1 January 1999 may apply to the Minister of Interior for its restoration. The foreigner needs to fill in a special application for restoration of Polish citizenship and lodge it with the Polish Government.

Where can I apply for restoration of Polish citizenship and how long does it take?

The Minister of Interior issues the decision on restoration of Polish citizenship based on the Polish Citizenship Act and following the Code of Administrative Procedure.

In the case of a complete application, the decision can be expected within two months.

If in the past, in order to acquire foreign citizenship, you had to renounce Polish citizenship, this procedure is the easiest option for you to become a Polish citizen.

Can my family members have their Polish citizenship restored along with me?

Restoration of Polish citizenship does not cover your relatives and for example, children born when you were not a Polish citizen. The process only applies and is relevant to one and a specific person who has lost or renounced Polish citizenship.

You once again become Polish citizen, from the date of the decision on restoration of your Polish citizenship.