The proceeding runs where the authority sits
The voivode decides in Poland, the archives are in Poland, and the registry offices are in Poland. We are there, which means correspondence with the authority does not travel through a third party first.
Five questions about citizenship
Polish citizenship isn't given. It's confirmed - and you may already have it.
Under Polish law, citizenship passes from parent to child at the moment of birth, in any country. The proceeding in Poland does not create a new status - the authority checks whether one already exists.
Polonia Iuris is a law firm in Poland. We run the case before the Polish authorities from start to finish, so nobody has to fly over to file papers or collect documents.
Five questions, about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.
Free, about 2 minutes
Could you be eligible for Polish citizenship?
Start with five simple questions about a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent born in Poland. If you don't know an answer, choose “I am not sure” and keep going. At the end you leave a name and an email. A lawyer from Poland then replies within 24 hours on business days with a free initial assessment, at no cost and with no obligation.
Thank you for your trust.
We will get back to you within 24 hours on business days with an answer.
A free initial assessment of the family line
Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET - we work U.S. hours
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The procedure
Four steps, none of them in Poland
A confirmation matter is a documents procedure before an administrative authority. There is no exam, no residence requirement, and no hearing to attend.
Ius sanguinis - the right of blood
The rule that citizenship follows descent rather than birthplace: a child of a Polish citizen is Polish no matter which country the birth took place in. American legal writing usually spells it jus sanguinis, while Polish sources keep the classical ius. It is why a confirmation matter looks back at a family line rather than forward at a grant.
Wojewoda - the voivode
The central government's representative in a Polish region, roughly comparable to a state-level authority. The voivode issues the citizenship decision - not a court, and not the consulate.
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01
You describe the line and send what you have
Names, dates, places, and photographs of whatever documents the family kept: old passports, certificates, letters. Gaps at this stage are normal and expected.
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02
We assess the chain against the statutes
Each generation is checked against the law in force on the relevant date. This is where a case is either worth filing or is not, and we say which it is before any paid work on the proceeding begins.
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03
We find the missing records and file the application
Prewar Polish records may sit in a state archive, a diocesan archive, or a civil registry office. Finding documents the family did not know existed is a large part of this work. The application to confirm citizenship by descent then goes to the voivode, or through the Polish consul for your area.
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04
The decision, and what it opens
A decision confirming citizenship states that you were a citizen all along. It opens the way to a Polish birth record, a PESEL number, an identity card, and a passport of a European Union member state. Only the last step, applying for the passport, needs you in person. Document transcription, fees, and the rest of this work are on the citizenship and documents page.
A typical situation
A client in New Jersey had only an American birth record for his grandfather, who was already born in the United States. The chain looked broken. An archive, however, produced the great-grandparents' marriage record from Poland and a residence-register entry made before they emigrated. Those two documents were enough to establish the great-grandfather's citizenship, and from there the chain ran down to the client.
Who handles the case
The law firm in Poland, not an intermediary
You hear the difficult answer too
Some lines are broken, and some cases are not worth filing. We say so, in writing, before the proceeding starts rather than after the first invoice.
The work is remote by design
Most of our clients live in the United States and have never been to Poland. Everything except the passport application at the end is handled by the lawyer you authorize.
Two numbers, two time zones
A Polish number and an American one, both on WhatsApp. You do not have to work out when somebody is awake before asking a question.
Questions
What people ask before they start
Is Polish citizenship granted, or confirmed?
Confirmed. Under Article 14(1) of the Polish Citizenship Act, a child born to a Polish-citizen parent acquires citizenship at the moment of birth, in any country. The proceeding before the voivode does not create a new legal status - the authority examines the documents and establishes whether one already exists. That is why the procedure is called confirmation.
Does this affect American citizenship?
Polish law does not require anyone to give up another citizenship. Article 3(1) of the Act provides that a Polish citizen who simultaneously holds the citizenship of another state has the same rights and obligations toward Poland as a person holding Polish citizenship alone. The consequences on the American side are governed by United States law, not Polish law, and are worth checking separately.
Is there a limit on how many generations back this can go?
Polish law sets no limit on the number of generations. What matters is an unbroken chain: each generation held citizenship and passed it on. A great-grandparent can be the starting point, provided the chain down to you is documented and was not broken by the rules in force at the time.
What breaks the chain?
Successive statutes set out situations in which citizenship was lost - historically, acquiring a foreign citizenship, serving in a foreign army, or taking public office abroad, and for certain periods there were rules that tied a child's position to the father's. What decides a case is not only what happened but when. A great-grandfather's naturalization may have broken the chain, or may not have touched it at all, depending on the year and on the statute in force at that moment.
How long does it take?
The authority works to statutory deadlines, but the honest answer is that the searching takes longer than the filing. Where records have to be traced in archives, that is what sets the pace. We give an estimate once we know which documents exist and which have to be found.
This page is general information about how the procedure works in Poland. It is not legal advice for a particular matter - the right approach depends on your documents and circumstances, so it is worth discussing your situation individually before you decide anything.