Has the voivode run out of time on my Polish citizenship application?

A case for confirmation or recognition of Polish citizenship must be decided within six months of the day the application reached the authority that decides it (Act on Polish Citizenship, Article 10(3a)). For confirmation and recognition that is the voivode. For restoration of citizenship it is the Minister of the Interior (Article 42). Once the six months are over, you can file a ponaglenie. One filed before the end is left unexamined (Code of Administrative Procedure, Article 37 § 3a).

How does the calculator count the six months?

It follows the Code of Administrative Procedure. A deadline in months ends on the day of the month that matches the start, or on the last day of the month if that day does not exist (Article 57 § 3). An application received on August 31 runs to the end of February. If the last day falls on a Saturday or a public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day (Article 57 § 4). Polish public holidays are built in, including Christmas Eve, a holiday since 2025.

Some periods do not count and are added on top: time the law gives you to do something, such as sending missing documents, periods when the case was suspended, and delays caused by you or by reasons the authority does not control (Article 35 § 5). Enter them as days to leave out. If you are not sure, count them anyway: a ponaglenie filed a little late still works, one filed too early does not.

What happens after I file a ponaglenie?

In a confirmation or recognition case, the ponaglenie goes to the Minister of the Interior, who is the higher authority over the voivode (Act on Polish Citizenship, Article 10(4)), and you file it through the voivode (Code of Administrative Procedure, Article 37 § 3). The voivode has seven days to pass it on with its position (Article 37 § 4), and the minister has seven days to decide it (Article 37 § 5). If the minister finds a delay, the minister orders the voivode to decide by a set date.

In a restoration case, the minister decides the case and has no higher authority, so you file the ponaglenie with the minister, who examines it. After a ponaglenie, you can file a complaint about inaction with the administrative court (Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts, Article 53 § 2b).

When does the calculator only warn you?

When the application arrived before August 1, 2025. The six-month rule took effect on that date, and the law does not say clearly whether it covers cases that were already pending. A ponaglenie may still be possible under the general rules of the Code, so we look at those cases one by one.

How we help

We check the dates in the letters from the office, file the ponaglenie in Polish and, if the case still does not move, the complaint to the administrative court. Our guide to a citizenship application with no decision explains the options in more detail.

Sources

This article is based on the acts listed below. Each link opens the text published by the Polish government, checked on September 20, 2026. Acts in force open as a consolidated text; historical acts are marked as such, with the date they stopped applying.

• Polish Citizenship Actconsolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1611
• Code of Administrative Procedureconsolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1691
• Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courtsconsolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 143

This calculator is general information about Polish law and is not legal advice about your situation. Legal basis: the Act on Polish Citizenship of April 2, 2009 (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1611), Articles 10 and 42; the Code of Administrative Procedure (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1691), Articles 35, 37 and 57; the Law on Proceedings before Administrative Courts (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 143), Article 53. To find out how this applies to your case, describe your situation.