In one of our\u00a0previous\u00a0articles, we discussed the procedure for confirming possession of Polish citizenship by individuals whose ancestors (parents or grandparents) emigrated from Poland during the interwar period or after the end of the\u00a0II\u00a0World War. We explained that under the Polish Citizenship Act of\u00a0January\u00a08,\u00a01951, which entered into force on January\u00a019,\u00a01951, the acquisition of citizenship of another state (naturalization)\u00a0generally did\u00a0not result in the loss of Polish citizenship. What, however, is the\u00a0legal position\u00a0when\u00a0the ancestor of the person concerned\u00a0acquired\u00a0foreign citizenship before that date?<\/p>\n
Research into Polish ancestry conducted by descendants of emigrants may often lead to the conclusion that their ancestors lost Polish citizenship\u00a0as a result of\u00a0acquiring\u00a0the citizenship of a foreign state prior to the\u00a0aforementioned date.<\/p>\n
However, this does not mean that the possibility of obtaining Polish citizenship and\u00a0consequently\u00a0a Polish passport is definitively\u00a0excluded.<\/p>\n
In certain cases, it is possible to\u00a0initiate\u00a0proceedings for the restoration\u00a0of Polish citizenship, and if such restoration\u00a0concerns an ancestor of the interested person,\u00a0subsequently\u00a0to confirm that the person in question\u00a0possess\u00a0Polish citizenship.<\/p>\n
Pursuant to\u00a0Article 11 of the Act of January\u00a020,\u00a01920\u00a0on the Citizenship of the Polish State, Polish citizenship was lost:<\/p>\n
However, the rule set out in Article 11\u00a0(1) of the 1920 Act was subject to an important\u00a0exception. Individuals liable for compulsory military service could\u00a0acquire\u00a0foreign citizenship only after obtaining\u00a0permission\u00a0from the Minister of Military Affairs,\u00a0as of 1933 after obtaining a formal exemption from universal military service.\u00a0In the absence of such permission or exemption, by the Polish State\u00a0they were still considered Polish citizens.\u00a0Accordingly, when\u00a0a Polish citizen,\u00a0subject to compulsory military service,\u00a0acquired\u00a0foreign citizenship but did not accept a public office or enter military service in that foreign state, he did not lose Polish citizenship.\u00a0Since military service obligations applied to men, any children born to him after his marriage would\u00a0acquire\u00a0Polish citizenship through descent from their father.\u00a0In such case, the\u00a0appropriate procedure\u00a0would be the confirmation of possession of Polish citizenship, as discussed in our\u00a0previous\u00a0article: LINK.<\/p>\n
However, if the above exception did not apply, the acquisition of foreign citizenship prior to January\u00a019,\u00a01951\u00a0resulted in the loss of Polish citizenship.<\/p>\n
Moreover,\u00a0pursuant to\u00a0Article 13 of the\u00a0aforementioned\u00a0Act, the loss of Polish citizenship extended to the wife of the\u00a0man\u00a0losing Polish citizenship, as well as to his children under the age of 18.<\/p>\n
In such cases,\u00a0if\u00a0certain conditions are met, it is possible to\u00a0submit\u00a0an application for the restoration\u00a0of Polish citizenship.<\/p>\n
Pursuant to Article 38\u00a0(1) of the currently applicable Act of April\u00a02,\u00a02009 on Polish Citizenship, a foreign national who lost Polish citizenship prior to January\u00a01,\u00a01999,\u00a0\u00a0including, inter alia, on the basis of Articles 11 or 13 of the Act of January\u00a020,\u00a01920 on the Citizenship of the Polish State,\u00a0shall have their Polish citizenship restored\u00a0upon application.<\/p>\n
However, due to the passage of time, it often happens that the ancestor who lost Polish citizenship is no longer alive. In such case, an application for the\u00a0restoration\u00a0of Polish citizenship may be\u00a0submitted\u00a0by a descendant,\u00a0provided that\u00a0they\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0a legal interest.\u00a0The applicant will have a legal interest in the restoration\u00a0of their ancestor\u2019s Polish citizenship if this is necessary to enable them\u00a0to seek confirmation of their own possession of Polish citizenship.<\/p>\n
In the application, it will be necessary to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0possession of Polish citizenship prior to the acquisition of foreign citizenship. It should be noted that Polish citizenship was held not only by persons born within the territory of the Second Republic\u00a0of Poland, but also by those born before the restoration of independence, who were residing in areas previously belonging to the partitioning powers and later incorporated into the Polish State.\u00a0The detailed rules\u00a0determining\u00a0who was entitled to Polish citizenship in such cases were set out in the 1920 Act. However, in certain situations it is also necessary to refer to peace treaties concluded after the\u00a0I\u00a0World War.\u00a0We will discuss these issues in greater detail in one of our forthcoming articles.<\/p>\n
Polish citizenship is restored\u00a0by the Minister competent for internal affairs through an administrative decision, in the case of persons\u00a0residing\u00a0outside the Republic of Poland, the intermediation of a consul\u00a0is mandatory.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0administrative fee\u00a0for an application for restoration\u00a0of Polish citizenship amounts to PLN 1000, while the fee for consular\u00a0intermediation\u00a0in cases involving persons\u00a0residing\u00a0abroad is EUR 50. An\u00a0additional\u00a0PLN 17 is payable for each granted power of attorney.<\/p>\n
The application must be\u00a0submitted\u00a0using the official form, exclusively in the Polish language. It should be accompanied by a document confirming the applicant\u2019s identity and citizenship, documents confirming any changes of first name or surname (if applicable), as well as any available documents\u00a0evidencing\u00a0the loss of Polish citizenship and a photograph of the\u00a0applicant.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, the application should include both documentation confirming the acquisition of foreign citizenship and documents proving prior possession of Polish citizenship by the applicant or their ancestor. Such documents should primarily be\u00a0sought\u00a0in state archives competent for the relevant family history\u00a0in question. It is also advisable to\u00a0review\u00a0parish registers and records of religious or communal administrative units.<\/p>\n
Copies of both Polish and foreign documents must be certified as true copies by a\u00a0consul. Moreover, all documents\u00a0drafted in\u00a0foreign\u00a0language\u00a0must be translated into Polish by a sworn translator or by a\u00a0consul. In addition, documents issued outside the European Union should bear an apostille clause\u00a0–\u00a0in the case of countries being parties to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of October\u00a05,\u00a01961,\u00a0or be legalised by a Polish\u00a0consul –\u00a0in the case of other countries.<\/p>\n
Descendants of a person whose Polish citizenship has been restored\u00a0may\u00a0subsequently\u00a0apply for confirmation of possession of Polish citizenship\u00a0in accordance with\u00a0the procedure described in our\u00a0previous\u00a0article: LINK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In one of our\u00a0previous\u00a0articles, we discussed the procedure for confirming possession of Polish citizenship by individuals whose ancestors (parents or grandparents) emigrated from Poland during the interwar period or after the end of the\u00a0II\u00a0World War. We explained that under the Polish Citizenship Act of\u00a0January\u00a08,\u00a01951, which entered into force on January\u00a019,\u00a01951, the acquisition of citizenship of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"autor":[18,17],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","autor-daria-dzidziul","autor-dariusz-urbanski"],"yoast_head":"\n