Since Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004, there has
been an increase of interest among people of Polish descent in obtaining
a Polish passport. Polish citizenship makes it possible for them to
reside, study, own property and gain employment in the European Union
countries.
As a Polish citizen, you can live and work in any of
the EU countries and enjoy free public health care and education. You
can also gain access to preferential investment loans, employment
schemes and you don't have to stand in the "Others" queue at airports!
Confirmation
of Polish citizenship can be daunting, as those who have tried doing it
by themselves will tell you! While the general rule is that if you have
Polish ancestors then you are already a citizen of Poland, there are
any number of reasons why your citizenship may have lapsed. This is why
the Polish government requires you to confirm your citizenship before
you can apply for your Polish passport.
Do you think that
confirming your Polish citizenship is simply a matter of getting in
touch with the Polish government? Think again! Confirmation of Polish
citizenship can be challenging, frustrating and time consuming.
Confirmation
of citizenship is an administrative and not a legal process so don't
get sucked in by lawyers who will charge you an arm and a leg for the
simplest of tasks.
The key to success is to check whether you are
eligible in the first place, gather relevant documentation and submit
it in the right way, to the right department in Poland. It requires your
commitment and full cooperation but if you leave it to the experts, the
journey, whilst long and at times frustrating, will lead to a
successful conclusion.
How do you tell whether you are eligible?
Unfortunately,
the answer to the question above isn't simple. The Polish citizenship
legislation, whilst very liberal and generous, is also quite complex.
This is why establishing eligibility is essential at the very beginning
of the process so that your application doesn't end in refusal,
frustration and loss of time and money.
Some of the factors that the Polish government takes into
consideration include the ancestors' year of birth, nationality of the
second parent/grandparent, foreign military service, acquisition of
foreign citizenship, conscription age of the father/grandfather of the
applicant, holding of public office but most of all, available
documentation proving all of the above. In some cases, because of the
Polish legislation, siblings from the same parents may or not be
eligible, depending on their gender and year of birth.
The onus
is on the applicant to provide sufficient evidence and proof of
citizenship and, as a general rule, the more documents issued by the
Polish government are submitted, the better your chances. Other
documents, such as International Identity Cards, Refuge Cards, Red Cross
documentation and archival documents from Australia can also be
accepted.
The fundamental part of the process is to gather
information and all available documents, and check whether you are
actually eligible. Some families may be reluctant to explore their past,
as many of them are victims of trauma so it is important to treat their
stories and lives with respects. Often, we can provide you with tips on
how to approach them in a sensitive way, as your ancestors will often
hold the key to your EU passport, that is documentation as well as
information on their past.
Obtaining a Polish passport is a 2 step process:
1. Confirmation of Polish Citizenship
File
containing your family's documents proving your ancestry needs to be
put together. Everything has to be prepared in the Polish language, then
submitted for assessment by the authorities in Poland. Most
applications are processed within 12 months from the day of lodgment,
though some do take longer.
2. Application for Polish Passport
To
apply for your Polish passport, you will need your certificate of
Polish citizenship and your Polish birth certificate (yes, even if you
were not born in Poland!).
Feel free to email me if you have any other questions!
Yours sincerely
Eva Hussain
Polaron Language Services
