I have been in Dluga 5 a few times the last months, and the very friendly girls in the EU section told me on that occasion that I can apply for Polish citizenship - being a EU citizen living na staly in Poland for over 5 years, Polish partner...
But I was wondering, what are the true advantages of this. As EU citizen here I enjoy the same rights as my Polish wife (only I cannot vote in national or presedential elections)
Also, you could vote, and you cannot be extradicted from poland, just like roman polanski. He is safe only in 3 countries in europe (france-citizen, poland-citizen, switzerland-because of failure of the u.s. extradiction)
For EU citizens, next to nothing really. Most people are now recognising that EU citizen + residence permit is equal to a Polish citizen, though I suppose it might help with obtaining security clearances.
As I do not aspire a career in BOR or GROM, I guess security clearances do not mean a thing :) Although isnt't there the problem with real estate - meaning when you want to buy a agricultural land or something....that foreigners cannot do that ?
There are a few advantages that I can see, but nothing major especially if you already have EU citizenship. I got my Polish citizenship a few months after arriving here and it enabled me to register permanently, easily open a bank account and also travel around most of Europe using just my ID card (Nothing major as I already have an EU passport).
If I didn't get citizenship, then they still would of let me register for longer than 3 months and open a bank account, but I would imagine it would be a more involved process. To me there are three advantages:
1) As someone has already said, it's a good feeling when you finally get it. 2) You get treated less like a foreigner when you want to, e.g. Buy a car, land, open a bank account, get a mobile phone contract. All these are possible already if you have EU citizenship, but I'd imagine they are a little easier if you have Polish citizenship.
3) Who knows what will happen in the future, maybe having a Polish passport will let you travel into certain areas easier, e.g. Without visa restrictions.
Actually as regarding traveling, as a Belgian from birth I can travel to vastly more countries as a Pole (nu superiority here, just statin the legal facts) without visa, exluding the nasty ones.
I cannot vote for presidential or national elections here (BK lost one vote here). For the rest what I can see as a hindrance is buying land. As far as I know Poland still poses restrictions on EU citizens buying land?
I am currently a Canadian Citizen looking to get duel citizenship in Poland. I have spent some time looking into the process of applying for a Polish citizenship. I was wondering primary about the negatives of having a polish Citizenship and what restrictions if any it would have on me. Some questions i had were:
1- Would I be faced with double taxation on my personal income? 2- If I got my polish citizenship and then applied for the "EU citizenship" as mentioned in the other posts. Would I had the right to live and work in all the other member countries in the EU? For example I read on another blog that Polish citizens with EU citizen rights are not given the rights to live and work in Germany without first expressly applying to Germany for a work visa. I was just wondering if similar restrictions to this one were true for other countries.
3-If I became a polish citizen does it limit me from becoming a citizen of another country in the EU at a later date. Example. If I were to marry someone from France could I hold both a French/Canadian and Polish Citizenship all at once or would I be forced to renounce one... or will getting one the polish citizenship prevent me from becoming a citizen of another EU country at a future time.
4- Lastly, I read before that mandatory military service is was required up until about 2009. I believe that this is no longer the case. Please correct me on this point if I am wrong. However I was just wondering if there are any other substantial commitments that Poland requires from there citizens that I should be aware of.
However I was just wondering if there are any other substantial commitments that Poland requires from there citizens that I should be aware of.
Certainly is - for a start, you'll be recognised as a Polish citizen when in Poland, not as a Canadian one. This can have some great benefits, and equally, some great drawbacks - the Canadian government won't help you if you get into trouble with the law, for instance.
Hello again I have been trying to contact the polish consulate for the last couple of days with no response. My question refers to the "personal questionnaire" that is susposed to be submitted with your application. On the website they do not alloberate on what this is. Clarification would be much appriciatiated. Thanks.
I have a concern that arose when I started looking into the history of my grandfather. During world war two my grandfather was forced to leave Poland because he fled from German occupation. During the next year or so he went to England where he served in there military as a fighter pilot. He flew planes for a short period say a year or so and then the war ended. He then came to Canada where he lived met and married my grandmother. They lived together and had 2 kids my father and his brother. They then divorced after a marriage of about 6 years and he returned back to Poland and became a polish citizen. I have a concern as mentioned on the Polish website because it states that if you were in the military of a foreign country that you forfeit your polish citizenship. That would mean that at the time of my fathers birth my grandfather was not a polish citizen and therefore my father would have no claim to become a polish citizen. I talked with someone at the polish consulate and they said that because the period of time in which my grandfather served in the army was short ( 9 months i believe) as well as the fact that he did not choose another countries military over the polish military. ie he could not take part in the polish military because it was under German occupation that in fact it would not affect my fathers claim to become a polish citizen. From your past responses I can tell that you have a strong understanding of polish citizen process and was wondering what your opinion on the situation was. Furthermore in the case that the military service does affect the citizenship status what alternatives if any do I have? Thanks so much again and sorry for the long winded post.
and he returned back to Poland and became a polish citizen.
If he legally obtained/regained Polish citizenship and was never stripped of it, then your father is free to claim Polish citizenship. From there, you can claim it too. Pretty easy, really.
grandfather and grandmother from Galacia. However, spoke and wrote Polish. USA 1900 my mother born USA 1911. I was born 1947. Can I apply for Polish citizenship based on blood line of my mother?
Can I apply for Polish citizenship based on blood line of my mother?
No. Your grandparents would never have had Polish citizenship (as you should be aware, Poland didn't exist when they left) and so it would have never passed to your mother - and so no citizenship for you.
POLAND IS ONE OF BEST COUNTRIES IN THE E.U. AND MUCH BETTER THAN THE UK EXCEPT ONLY IN THE RATE OF PAY. AS BRIT I LOVE POLAND AND THE POLISH PEOPLE AND AS SOON I CAN RETIRE I WILL MOVE TO POLAND {MARK DEITZ}
My father was born in Poland in 1940, moved to US in approx. 1945, he was raised in US and became a citizen. Can he now at 76 re-apply to get his Polish citizenship back?
I'm curious to what the disadvantages of gaining Polish citizenship are? Currently I have another EU nationality. I know I would be treated solely as Polish citizen in the eyes of the Polish government.
Especially, I'd like to know, if there is any taxes which are dependent on my nationality? Could I ever be worse off, if I moved to Poland - or spend more time there? I have a parent who has a Polish passport - could me gainning one as well result in any inheritance taxes from Poland, that could otherwise be avoided? How about the case of inheritance of real estate inside Poland? How about if my parent choose to move to and reside in Poland?
