Law / I lived in Poland for 5 years then had studies abroad - should I apply for permanent residency or citizenship? [12]

I had no idea why my original post was merged here and why Dougpol1 was so rude.

I asked that because I want to keep my EU citizenship and rights of freedom of movement after Brexit. I know not many EU nationals applied Polish citizenship and also the law was not very clear. I want to hear from someone who had such experience of applying Polish citizenship as EU nationals.

Law / I lived in Poland for 5 years then had studies abroad - should I apply for permanent residency or citizenship? [12]

You answer does not help. If UK want to control EU migrates after Brexit, then there will be no freedom of movement for British citizens.

I'm a professional who do jobs all over Europe. Freedom of movement is very important. I would rather to have a Polish passport than a British passport. I also don't consider myself as British citizen but European citizen. If my EU citizenship is taken out against my will, I will need a new country such as Poland to keep my rights.

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

A question, what is exactly the residence requirements for British to apply for Polish citizenship? 3 years? 5 years? or 8 years? I checked the laws but they seem are for non-EU nationals but not clear about the EU nationals who reside in Poland on the basis of free movement.

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

Of course I know the language requirement is B1 Polish language certificate. I'm asking about the residency requirements. Can anyone clarify this?

Why so many people criticize about British wanting to apply for Polish citizenship. To getting a new citizenship is an diversifying investment for a second passport and culture recognition.

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

Everywhere I searched in this forum or other sites is all about the requirements for non-EU nationals. What I ask is particularly about EU nationals who want to apply for Polish citizenship and I could not find accurate answers so far.

On the other hand, for Polish applying for British citizenship, the law is very clear, you live in Britain for 5 years on the basis of free movement then automatically get permanent residence, then after another 12 months you are eligible.

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

Simply I want to secure my EU citizenship and free movement after Brexit. There are too much uncertainties in next 2 years. There are also other advantages for a Polish passport than a British passport if you are a frequent world traveller like me.

1. When travelling in some countries, British passport holder is a dangerous target for kidnapping. Some countries even forbid British to travel independently.
2. For the countries needing visa to travel, British passport is always charged much higher visa fees than other passports.

Remember, just like financial investment, never put eggs in one basket, multi citizenship are definitely better than single citizenship. I'm so jealous the people who have Polish/British dual nationality that they don't need to worry about Brexit. In some cases, that can save your life. For examples, most Jews with dual nationality were able to escape Nazi. Also in a lot of kidnaps, kidnappers chose to kill British and American citizens but not others.

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

I'm a very adventurous traveller who would explore as many countries as I can (so far I'v done just above 100). I don't want what my government have done to other countries make me a victim when travelling abroad as I never agreed and supported my government's actions.

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

10iwonka10:

The law says 3 years on the basis of (many residence permits for non-EU nationals and permanent residence but no mention about EU free movement).

My concern is whether EU nationals need to have permanent residence (which automatically obtained after 5 years under EU treaties) first then 3 years after permanent residence, that makes actual residency requirement 8 years (5+3).

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

Because Polish law does not explicitly say 3 years on the basis of free movement treaties. That's where confuses come from. That can be interpreted in many ways. You can simply say 3 years is enough as EU nationals don't need permit to reside like non-EU nationals. But you can also say you need to have PR first as PR is explicitly mentioned in the law and only 5+3 can fulfill the requirement (3 years on the basis of PR).

To obtain PR automatically after 5 years of residence is from the EU treaties that apply to all EU countries. On the other hand, British law makes it very clear, you have to have PR for 1 year to apply British citizenship even for EU nationals even the minimal residency requirement is 5 years. That makes the actual requirement 6 years (5+1).

So it really needs official clarification or people who have applied as EU nationals to share their experience.

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

So totally 3 years, 5 years or 8 years?

The core question is for EU-nationals, which one is the requirement for citizenship?

1. 3 years AFTER Certificate of Residence (3+0)
2. 3 years AND Permanent Residence (5+0)
3. 3 years AFTER Permanent Residence (3+5)

UK, Ireland / Dual nationality: British and Polish [68]

I really doubt it's 3 years, sounds too good to be true. All other EU countries have at least 5 years requirements for citizenship, some even require 10 years. Considering Poland is not a country having many immigrants, I doubt it can have much less residency requirements than other EU countries.