Genealogy /
Can one become Polish? [21]
First generation immigrants are never seen as being natives. I imagine there have been a handful of immigrants who have managed to master Polish right down to nuances and not having an accent but in times of distress these same people tend to spontaneously drop their highly managed facades.
Immigrants are aware of their status and at times are given warranted and unwarranted reminders of this by native members of the host population. Since Poland is predominately white chances are if you are from a different race people's first thought will be that you are a probably a foreigner. No different than a white person walking around China or a Latino walking around Rwanda.
Even whites tend to categorize each other into further groupings either by their general features or just the way they dress, carry themselves and definitely when they talk. Blacks do this with other blacks and Asians do this with other Asians. Some don't want to admit to this because they only think of sinister reasons for doing it. But it is true. That's just the way our brains are wired. It is a survival instinct and that is why we are visual and aural creatures.
If you are part of Poland's German minority why should this bother you? Poles living in Germany and other countries are categorized and treated as a minority group. Virtually every country on Earth has minority groups. Many countries now go through great pains to ensure people are acknowledged as being minorities so they can boast they are a liberal and diverse society. And some minorities like Québécois in Canada, Kashubians in Poland, and Jews no matter where they go, deliberately want to see themselves and regarded by others as distinct from the majority around them.
But even deep integration doesn't always erase someone's heritage. A Pole may have been raised as a child in Germany or even Japan but if their surname is still something like Kowalski then others in that society will see this person as either being Polish or of having Polish ancestry.
As far as recently arrived foreigners in Poland they could change their names to something regarded as Polish but that won't prevent other Poles picking up that they didn't spend most of their lives in Poland. Only their offspring if raised in Poland would have a increased likelihood of being regarded as Polish when interacting with other native Poles.
Also, other foreigners who have extensive exposure to Poland and Poles know when another foreigner is not Polish.
Of course living in another culture will rub off on you over time and in many different ways but it is never enough to make you completely indistinguishable from a native especially the older you are when you adopt a new country to live in.
That's just the way life is.