Eligibility quiz
Do you intend to settle permanently in Poland?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Polish passport and ID
Polish citizens can get a passport and identity card.
A normal passport lasts 10 years, or 5 years for some children.
A temporary passport lasts for the period stated on it, up to 12 months.
Live in Poland for life
Polish citizens can live in Poland permanently, choose where to live and move within the country.
They cannot be expelled from Poland or refused return.
Study in Poland
Polish citizens can use public education on the same terms as other Polish citizens.
Full-time study at public universities and other higher-education institutions is generally free of tuition on those terms.
Work in Poland
Polish citizens can work or run a business in Poland without a foreigner's work permit.
Get help abroad
Polish citizens can get help from Poland abroad, including passport assistance and emergency help.
If Poland has no representative in a country outside the EU, another EU country's consulate can help on the same terms as for its own citizens.
Vote in elections
Polish citizens can generally vote from age 18 in presidential, parliamentary and local elections and referendums.
Some people lose this right through a final court judgment.
Rules for voting abroad differ, and registration with the consul may be needed.
Use public healthcare
Public healthcare normally depends on insurance, though some uninsured citizens living in Poland qualify based on income and other conditions.
Children under 18 and pregnant women who are Polish citizens living in Poland have access to specified care.
In other EU countries, coverage depends on national systems and rules that can include work, insurance and residence.
Get social support
Polish citizens who live and stay in Poland can seek social assistance, with help depending on need, income and other conditions.
Pensions and benefits for sickness, unemployment and families have separate payment and eligibility rules.
How to apply
From outside PolandFrom outside Poland
Find your consulate
Find the Polish consulate responsible for the place where you live. You start the repatriation visa application at a consulate outside Poland.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Polish consulate covers your city for a national repatriation visa?”
Download the application form
Get the application form for a national visa for repatriation.
Find the formSearches DuckDuckGo for “Where can I download the Poland national repatriation visa application form?”
Fill in the application
Fill in the repatriation visa application in Polish and sign it.
See how to applySearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in and sign the Poland national repatriation visa application?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the consulate and the office in Poland.
See required documentsBook an appointment
Book a visit if your consulate requires one. Your consulate can tell you whether to use e-Konsulat or another booking method.
Book an appointmentHand in your application
Bring your completed application, passport and supporting documents to the consulate. Ask the consulate how to submit them if it uses another method.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit a Poland national repatriation visa application at the Polish consulate for your city?”
Wait for the decision
The consulate considers your application and may interview you before deciding about your Polish origin. Answer its questions and send any further documents it requests.
See what happens nextSearches DuckDuckGo for “How does a Polish consulate decide Polish origin for a national repatriation visa?”
Arrange your settlement
After your Polish origin is accepted, give the consulate evidence that you have a home and support in Poland or an assured place in an adaptation centre. A promise of settlement support can also be accepted.
Find settlement optionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I arrange housing and support for a Poland national repatriation visa?”
Wait for your visa
Wait for the consulate to issue your national repatriation visa after you provide the required settlement evidence. Respond if it asks for anything else.
See visa informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “What happens after I provide settlement evidence for a Poland national repatriation visa?”
Travel to Poland
Enter Poland on your national repatriation visa. As a repatriant, you become a Polish citizen when you cross the border.
See arrival informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “What do I do after receiving a Poland national repatriation visa?”
Once in PolandOnce in Poland
Find your local office
Find the voivodeship office responsible for your settlement home or, if your visa was based on a place in an adaptation centre, for that centre.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Polish voivodeship office covers your city for confirmation of Polish citizenship?”
Fill in the application
Fill in and sign the application to confirm Polish citizenship. Include your details, your parents’ and grandparents’ details, and the facts needed to explain your citizenship.
Find application guidanceSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in an application to confirm Polish citizenship after repatriation?”
Hand in your application
Submit your completed application and supporting documents to the voivodeship office. Pay the administrative charge for the decision and ask the office how to pay it.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit an application to confirm Polish citizenship to the voivodeship office for your city?”
Receive your confirmation
Wait for the office’s decision and respond to any requests for more information. Once approved, receive the document confirming your Polish citizenship; you can then apply for a Polish passport.
See what happens nextSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I receive a decision confirming Polish citizenship after repatriation?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates
Get your full birth certificate showing your parents, and birth records linking you to your parent and your Polish grandparent. If you were adopted, include the adoption decision.
Grandparent's Polish origin
Bring records showing your Polish grandparent's connection to Poland and Polish nationality. These could include a Polish identity document, birth or baptismal record, military record, official record of Polish nationality, or records of deportation, imprisonment, rehabilitation or persecution because of Polish origin.
Marriage certificates *
Get marriage certificates that show your current civil status and connect the names in your family records. Include divorce or name change records if needed to explain a change.
* Only if you, your parent or your Polish grandparent married.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationConsiderations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Treatment as Polish
If you have another citizenship, Polish authorities treat you as a Polish citizen.
You cannot use your other citizenship to avoid Polish rights or duties.
Defence and military service
Citizens from age 18 through the year they turn 60, or 63 for some ranks, may be called for defence duties.
Permanent medical unfitness and some pregnancy or childcare cases are exempt; so are dual citizens living permanently abroad.
Foreign military service needs permission, except for dual citizens living permanently in their other country and serving its forces; breaking this rule can be a crime.
Citizenship can be lost
Polish citizenship can be given up voluntarily only with the President's consent.
It ends 30 days after the decision, unless an earlier date is specified.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
Polish Citizenship Discussion Group
English Facebook group for people interested in Polish citizenship
Request to joinr/prawokrwi
English Reddit group for people interested in Polish citizenship
Join on RedditPolish citizenship & passport
English Facebook group for people interested in Polish citizenship
Request to joinConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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