Eligibility quiz
Did one of your parents or grandparents, or two of your great-grandparents, identify as Polish?
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.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Polish consulate covers your city for a repatriation visa application?”
Download the application form
Get the national visa application form for repatriation.
Download the formFill in the form
Complete the application and include the signed declaration that your information is true.
Get help with formSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in the Polish national visa application form for repatriation?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the consulate.
See required documentsHand in your application
Contact the Polish consulate responsible for where you live and submit your completed application and documents there. Ask the consulate how it takes applications.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit a Polish repatriation visa application at the consulate serving your city?”
Attend your interview
Attend an interview at the consulate as part of your application.
Prepare for interviewSearches DuckDuckGo for “What happens at a Polish repatriation visa interview at a consulate?”
Wait for the decision
Wait while the consulate handles your application and respond if it asks for more information or documents. If your application is approved, the consul places the repatriation visa in your passport.
See what happens nextSearches DuckDuckGo for “What happens after I apply for a Polish repatriation visa at a consulate?”
Once in PolandOnce in Poland
Enter Poland
Travel to Poland while your repatriation visa is valid. You become a Polish citizen automatically on the day you cross the Polish border.
See entry detailsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I enter Poland with a national visa for repatriation and acquire Polish citizenship?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Parent's Polish origin records *
Provide records showing your Polish parent's Polish nationality or origin. These can include identity, civil-status, baptismal or military records, or records of deportation, imprisonment, rehabilitation or persecution because of Polish origin; records about you may also help show your connection to Poland.
* Only if you apply at a consulate.
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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