According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration in Poland, in 2024, as many as 16,342 people of various nationalities obtained Polish citizenship. This is a record, as the previous year saw nearly 10,000 people obtain citizenship. In 2019, however, there were significantly fewer, around 6,000.
Can I obtain Polish citizenship thanks to my Polish ancestry?
The procedure for confirming Polish citizenship is one of three ways to obtain Polish citizenship, which is also European citizenship. The other two are a presidential grant and residency. Since the grant has a very low success rate, especially nowadays, and residency is most often overlooked due to the requirements associated with it, confirmation is the most effective way to secure Polish-European citizenship. The only requirement is to have Polish ancestry.
Who can apply?
The theory behind Polish citizenship assumes that it is automatically inherited from parents to children – the so-called principle of blood (Ius Sanguinis). This means that your family may still have Polish citizenship after many generations, without living in or visiting Poland, without knowing the Polish language, or even without previously confirming their citizenship.
This is the right of birth – you just have to be careful about the possible loss of citizenship due to various legal regulations in force in the 20th century. Getting through them can be quite a challenge, which is why most applicants often decide to seek the help of Polish companies that assist in preparing applications. They employ specialists who not only know every citizenship law (from 1920, 1951, 1962, and 2012), but are also familiar with all the latest court rulings that may have a serious impact on the final decision made by a government official.
Documents
The most important step is to provide proof that your ancestors are Polish citizens. This requires an original document issued by the Polish central or local authorities, which states citizenship or confirms place of residence. It can be old and out of date – even better if it is! It simply needs to confirm that one of your ancestors had citizenship in the past or resided permanently in Poland, which until 1945 was almost always synonymous with citizenship. If such documentation cannot be found in your family archives, we are here to help. Many state archives in Poland still have relevant documents confirming citizenship status – population censuses, registration records, tax and military records, voter lists, indexes, and questionnaires related to old Polish passports and identity cards.
Final steps
If there has been no loss of citizenship and the main evidence is ready, the rest of the journey becomes much less daunting. An application for citizenship, consisting of the collected documentation and completed government forms, is submitted. At the same time, births and marriages (in the case of married applicants) are registered in Poland. The process is quite time-consuming, mainly on the part of the Polish government, but once the review is complete, a Polish citizenship certificate is issued. This is the final proof that the person is a citizen of Poland and, consequently, of the EU. With this document, the remaining steps become a formality, as no one can refuse you a Polish passport. The certificate, along with your registered civil status records and completed PESEL and passport forms, can be exchanged for a passport at any Polish consulate. This means you can choose the one closest to you—just remember that you will have to pick up your passport at the same place 4 to 5 weeks later.
Having a Polish/EU passport in your hands is a moment to celebrate—now you can enjoy all the privileges reserved for European citizens!
![Pre-war Polish countryside in archival photographs [GALLERY]](https://yrip.brkts.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Miniaturka_polska_wies-1-1.png)
