All 4 of my grandparents were born in Poland - Canadian living in the UK, looking for Polish Citizenship

hi,

I was hoping someone could please help with some guidance.

I am a Canadian citizen, currently living the UK on a 2-year visa. I am hoping stay permanently by acquiring Polish citizenship and therefore a passport in the EU. All 4 of my grandparents were born in Poland and left during World War II. My parents were both born in Canada, as was I.

Am I able to seek citizenship?
What would be the best method of doing so?

Any help would really be appreciated as I am finding the sites to be very very confusing.

You need to go to the Polish embassy in London and talk to them. I doubt it though.

What do you doubt? I can go back to Canada and do it through the Toronto embassy, it's just so unclear on the site if I am eligible and what the requirements are!

I hope that you are indeed able to try. If your grandparents were citizens and at least one of your parents as well then you ARE a citizen and indeed you need simply to file for confirmation of that fact (a lengthy matter in itself). If none of your parents was a citizen (eg. never bothered to obtain confirmation thereof), you stand no chance of confirmation. But then there are other ways to obtain citizenship, however complicated they may be. Go to any polish embassy websites and read relevant information.

Do you speak Polish?

Thank you, me too.

I am assuming that one or both of my parents will need to get citizenship before I can apply. My major concern however is that my grandparents lost all papers during the war, so proving their citizenship will be difficult but not impossible. They were able to prove that they are Holocaust survivors and have had the German government paying them for damages like many survivors, which I can imagine was a daunting task.

Ultimately, do you think a lawyer who specialises in this would be the best way to go? It seems like the process is really complex.

No I do not, is that somehow relevant?

That's not the major concern, the real issue is - are they still alive, and when did they obtain Canadian citizenship?

I'm just wandering if the information you need will be readily available in English, looks like it is: londynkg.polemb.net/index.php?document=45

Both grandfathers have passed and both grandmothers are alive. I am trying to find out when exactly they left Europe as they had been in concentration camps, and then they went to Israel, THEN to Montreal, Canada, where my parents were born in 1952 and 1953.

Thank you! But I believe it needs to be Canadian, although I am living in London :)

I doubt it because your parents don't have Polish citizenship. Do your Grandmothers have Polish passports?

It would appear to me that you are not really interested in becoming Polish but looking for an easy way to stay in the UK. Why don't you just attempt to seek citizenship directly from the UK? Your logic makes sense but it isn't as easy as it sounds. There is loads of paperwork and language issues that you have to deal with here.

Why don't you just do it the right way seeing as from your initial post -your words say

DLR14
If the original papers may be lost, try and backtrack their steps from where they entered Canada. By obtaining papers from entry into Canada and entry/exit papers from other countries along with copies of supporting papers, you may have a slim chance. Also, check the citizenship acts of 1920 and 1951 since they will pertain to your ancestor. Another website to check into on this matter would be poland expat under forums for Poland. There have been a couple of listings for lawyers/advocates dealing with cases of people trying to obtain citizenship.

They can advise you if it will be worth the effort or not.

HI DLR14, I know this is a far stretch, but I'm in a similar situation and wondering what you found? I'm currently going through the same process of trying to navigate the various website and citizenship acts. Any advice from your experience would be greatly appreciated!