Restitution or restoration of citizenship is a legal process available to people who have lost or renounced their citizenship or never held it due to historical discriminatory laws. Restitution of Polish citizenship was introduced into the Polish legal system relatively recently via the Act on Polish Citizenship of 2 April 2009, which came into force on 15 August 2012.
It is available for people who have held but lost their Polish citizenship, often against their will or under duress in the context of political changes in Poland. Some people lost their Polish citizenship without knowing, for example women who married foreign citizens or men who served in foreign armies before 19/1/1951.
Several conditions must be met for citizenship to be restored this way. The procedure can only be pursued by people who lost their Polish citizenship before January 1999. They must still be still alive and supply evidence of loss of their Polish citizenship, for example through serving in a foreign army, renunciation or marriage.
Applications for restitution of Polish citizenship for persons living abroad are handled by the Minister of Interior and Administration in Poland via your local Polish consulate. The process takes between 3-6 months. The certificate of citizenship lists the date of restoration of citizenship, meaning that the applicant will have a gap in continuity of Polish citizenship, often of several decades. Descendants of people who have had their Polish citizenship restored through restitution cannot apply to have their citizenship confirmed, unless they are a child of the applicant, born after the citizenship has been restored.
To be successful, the applicant must be a person of good character. The Polish government can refuse your application if they consider you a threat to Poland’s security or legal order.
Before making a decision, the Minister consults a number of authorities responsible for state security. The citizenship certificate is then delivered to the consulate and given to the applicant. At Polaron, we’ve handled a number of Polish citizenship restitution cases with 100% success rate. We have also helped children and grandchildren of people who had their citizenship restored through the restitution process reclaim their Polish citizenship through the presidential grant process, also with 100% success rate.
Whilst these procedures seem complex at a first glance, we can help you navigate through all the requirements and bureaucracies. Together, we discuss your situation with you, assess your chances of success and work on a plan of action, including all the required forms, documents and timelines. This little-known process can provide an efficient and streamlined pathway to citizenship for you and your family, as long as you meet eligibility criteria. We can guide you through all the paperwork and in most cases, can even guarantee the outcome of your application.
Do you want to apply for Restitution of Polish citizenship? We can help! Contact us.
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