Polish citizenship

The firm has over 25 years’ experience in handling the obtaining of Polish citizenship and passports for the descendants of Polish émigrés.

Who is entitled to receive Polish citizenship:

Alternative 1

Descendants of a Polish citizen who left Poland (including territories that formerly belonged to Poland, such as parts of Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine) before January 1951, provided that he meets all of the following criteria:

• A male born after 1901.
• A male who did not desert/request an exemption from the Polish army before his departure (the burden is on the Polish government to furnish documentary proof in this regard, although it should be noted that documentation from those years is rarely found).
• A male who did not serve in a foreign army to Poland (for example – the IDF) even for one day.
• Women – are not entitled, except in cases where the woman was a minor in January 1951, in which case her entitlement shall be examined based on the father’s entitlement only.

Alternative 2

Descendants of Polish citizens who left Poland after January 1951, provided that they did not renounce their Polish citizenship.

We would emphasize that in most cases, the entire issue of renunciation is overcome, since a large number of renunciations were signed under duress, which is contrary to Polish law.
Moreover, the burden of proving the signature on the renunciation lies with the government, which rarely finds supporting documentation regarding the issue of renunciations.

The manner in which obtaining Polish citizenship is handled in most cases:

• Ascertaining whether the Polish émigré served in the IDF.
• Determining whether his marriage certificate can be obtained (without a marriage certificate, the application shall be rejected).
• Genealogical search for documents establishing eligibility in Poland and former Polish territory.
• Preparation of the file – confirmations and notarized Polish translations, including apostille certifications for all the relevant documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, change of name certificates) which establish the legal connection between the Polish émigré and the applicant.

Further clarifications

• It is not possible to skip generations; Polish citizenship must first be validated and restored to the citizen who left Poland, and only then can it be arranged for his children, grandchildren and subsequent generations.
  If the émigré is deceased, the initial application is submitted by his living offspring.
• The applicant for citizenship is not required to know the Polish language.
• There is no limit to the number of generations entitled to Polish citizenship.
• From the Polish authorities’ standpoint, there is no limit on holding dual or multiple foreign nationalities in addition to Polish citizenship.
• Adoptees are also eligible for Polish citizenship through a parent/grandparent, provided that there are official adoption documents.

Please contact the firm for further details and an initial Hungarian citizenship eligibility check.