Recorded 16,647 people gained Polish citizenship in 2024, which means an increase of more than 36 percent compared to 12,166 cases a year earlier. According to the data of the Ministry of abroad Affairs, it was decided to grant 1 514 citizenships, recognise 14 828 people as Polish citizens and reconstruct 305 Polish citizenships.
The number of allocated citizenships has nearly quadrupled since 2017, erstwhile it amounted to 4,620 cases, according to businessinsider.com.pl. In the following years, the trend was steadily expanding - in 2018 it was 5,665 citizenships, in 2021 it was 7,960 and in 2022 it was 10,122.
Three Paths to Citizenship
Polish citizenship can be obtained in 3 ways: by granting by the President, designation by the voivode or restoration by the Minister of the SWIA. The most commonly utilized way is to recognise as a Polish citizen - in 2024 it constituted as many as 14,828 cases from the full number of 16,647, as reported by wp.pl.
Foreigners may apply for designation as a Polish citizen after at least 3 years of uninterrupted stay in Poland on the basis of a permanent residence permit. They must know the Polish language at level B1, have provided housing and livelihoods and do not pose a threat to national security.
Amendments to government on the horizon
President Karol Nawrocki submitted a task to the Sejm extending the minimum period of stay from 3 to 10 years for those seeking designation as a Polish citizen. The proposal concerns foreigners residing in Poland on the basis of permanent residence permits, EU long-term resident permits or permanent residence rights.
The Ministry of abroad Affairs is preparing its own improvement package of citizenship. "At the end of October at the Ministry of abroad Affairs we will present a full package of solutions concerning Polish citizenship, which we have been working on for respective months" - announced Deputy Minister Maciej Duszczyk on the X platform.
Minister Marcin Kierwiński confirmed plans to introduce fresh requirements. "We want to introduce something like a test for Polish citizenship, assessing the level of assimilation, the level of cognition of Polish language" - said the minister during the ceremony in Warsaw.
In practice, citizenship is not granted after 3 years, as explained by banker.pl. "This is simply a period of not little than 8 years" - Kierzinski explained. The Ministry of the Interior stresses that the president is not restricted by any conditions in his constitutional powers regarding the granting of citizenship and can give it to any foreigner at any time.
Sources used: "PAP", "businessinsider.com.pl", "wp.pl", "bankier.pl" Note: This article has been edited with the aid of Artificial Intelligence.
