Possible prospects of gaining Polish Citizenship (grandfather heritage)?

Hi there dear reader,

I have a question concerning my polish heritage and the possible prospects of gaining the polish citizenship.

My Grandfather was from a small town near Poznań. He and his family didn't really speak polish and belonged to the german minority. When Germany attacked Poland he joined the Polish army to defend his country from the germans, while his brother joined the Wehrmacht. I don't know how, where and when but he and his unit where captured which did lead to him having to work in western germany for "reparation". He stayed with a german family as a farmhand during the whole war until the fighting seized. The polish government gave every Polish citizen that was in exile the possibility to return to Poland or loose their citizenship permanently. He refused to go back and joined the british occupation forces in germany thus rendering him citizenshipless. Thus my father was born without either a german nor polish citizenship but gained former before turning 18.

Im not entirely certain but I think that after the collapse of the soviet union and the communist states in eastern europe the polish parliament did pass a law to allow those who lost their citizenship after the 2nd World War and their children to regain said citizenship. Unfortunately both my grandfather and father are already dead and thus I wonder whether it would still be possible for me to gain the polish citizenship on the grounds of my grandfather having been a polish citizen and loosing it after WWII.

If you have any idea that could help me I would be very grateful (I don't want to go to the polish embassy or consulate yet due to me not being able to speak polish yet).

Thank you

In your situation it would be rather difficult. Seems to me you can try do it by sending the special application to the President of the Republic of Poland.

Important is the fact, you grandfather has Polish citizenship and fight in polish forces.
But your chances will be bigger if you find documents which can proof that what you write is true.

The link below maybe will be useful: how-to-obtain-polish-citizenship.html

Merged: Do I qualify for Polish citizenship?

Hi, I was hoping someone could give me some advice. I have a couple of questions.

1. Do I qualify for Polish citizenship? My paternal grandfather was born in Poland (as a Polish citizen) in 1916, and emigrated along with his wife to Australia in 1950. He wasn't naturalized as an Australian citizen until the late 1950s. To the best of my knowledge he never worked as a government official in Australia, nor was he in the Australian or any military other than the Polish military (in which he did serve for a few years). My father was born in Australia in the mid 1950s, prior to my grandfather's naturalization as an Australian citizen.

2. If yes, is it possible to get a Polish passport or some recognition of citizenship? The major roadblock I see here is re: documentation. I would presumably need to show that my father is the child of a Polish citizen, but - I'm mostly estranged from my father and he is unlikely to grant permission for access to his birth certificate - his permission is needed to access the certificate as long as he is still living. I can get an "uncertified" copy, but they're not intended for use for official purposes as they don't have the registrar signature etc on them.

I have and/or can obtain:

My own birth certificate
Both grandparents' birth certificates
Grandparents' marriage certificate
Copies of grandparents' immigration paperwork and naturalization documents in Australia
Copies of each grandparent's will and probate paperwork. I doubt the Polish authorities would care much about these but the wills do mention my father and me.

I also carry my grandfather's (fairly uncommon, and distinctively Polish) surname, if that helps at all.

For what it's worth, I have a genuine interest in my Polish heritage -my wife and I have have been learning the language, my wife really wants to study there and I am keen to try and find work and give living there a go, with a view to potentially staying long term. I think this will be easier if I can be acknowledged as a Polish citizen. Would really love any advice!

Merged: Polish Citizenship

Alright, so I'm just a little bit curious. If you're not of heavy or direct Polish descent, will that lessen the chances of me getting a Polish citizenship if I were to apply for one? I'm an American citizen right now, but I'm not sure as to how much Polish heritage I actually have.

It's complicated. Easier to pass the language exam and get citizenship based on residence and other factors. How long have you lived in Poland?

As far as I understand, if you qualify for Polish citizenship by descent, you can't apply to naturalise as a Polish citizen. The stance of the Polish authorities is that if you qualify for Polish citizenship by descent, you already are Polish, so you can't naturalise as Polish.


You may wish to note that you'll be required to give up your US citizenship. Some people are unwilling to do that (there's one particular poster here who is a very good example of that).

You may wish to note that you'll be required to give up your US citizenship. Some people are unwilling to do that (there's one particular poster here who is a very good example of that).

Totally wrong.USA dont care if you have any other citizenship,till one doesnt serve the army of that country,get your facts straight and stop bullying.

In fact he's totally right. What the USA cares about or doesn't is neither here nor there. It is a requirement of the Polish government, not the American.

It is a requirement of the Polish government, not the American.

You are wrong also jon357,its not also polish requirement.Only thing when a dual citizen is in Poland he/she has to identify himself as an polish citizen and not an foreign citizen and same in the USA(as an American citizen).

No, you are getting confused. It depends entirely on the basis of citizenship. In the P112's case, the possible grounds are restricted. I note that he/she does not say how long they have lived in Poland or under what basis.

Binaca, it's worth checking out some of the previous threads here on this subject (as well as listening to those of us who have actually done this).

This is correct, in some cases the person will be asked to provide proof of renunciation of their other citizenship, but not in every case.


This is incorrect - it is case specific, see below examples.

Examples:
Claiming Polish citizenship exclusively on the basis of Polish ancestry: renunciation of other citizenship is always required.
Applying for Polish citizenship to the President of RP (regardless of reasoning): In most cases renunciation of other citizenship is required.
Foreigner being recognized as a Polish citizen on the basis of having lived in Poland for a certain length of time and met other conditions: In most cases renunciation of other citizenship is not required.

I know people that have gone through each of the above cases (including myself) so I know what I am talking about through actual experience.