Confirming Polish citizenship by descent

Is citizenship granted, or confirmed?

This distinction decides the whole case. Under Article 14(1) of the Polish Citizenship Act, a child acquires Polish citizenship by birth where at least one parent is a Polish citizen. Citizenship therefore passes from one generation to the next automatically, at the moment of birth, regardless of the country in which the child was born.

The proceeding before the voivode does not create a new legal status. The authority examines the documents and establishes whether you already hold citizenship. That is why the procedure is called confirmation rather than a grant.

Who qualifies, and how many generations back?

Anyone at the end of an unbroken line of Polish citizens. The Act sets no limit on the number of generations; what matters is that at every birth in the line, the parent through whom you trace citizenship was a Polish citizen on the day the child was born.

Each link is judged under the statute in force when that child was born. For births before January 19, 1951, that is the Act of January 20, 1920, which took effect on January 31, 1920 and also decides whether a U.S. naturalization, service in a foreign army or, for women, marriage to a foreigner ended an ancestor's citizenship before the next generation was born. In practice the line starts with the most recent ancestor whose Polish citizenship can be documented, often someone who held it under the 1920 Act. We explain those rules in our guide on whether an ancestor lost Polish citizenship by becoming an American.

Will I lose my American citizenship?

Polish law does not require you 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 the Republic of Poland as a person holding Polish citizenship only.

Losing Polish citizenship is in fact difficult rather than easy. Under Article 46, a citizen loses it only by renouncing it - and only after obtaining the consent of the President of the Republic of Poland. It does not lapse on its own or through the passage of time.

The consequences on the American side are governed by United States law, not Polish law, and are worth checking separately.

Where is the application filed from the United States?

The application is decided by the voivode for your place of residence, or your last place of residence in Poland. Where no such place can be established - which is the position in most cases involving people born abroad - the matter is handled by the Mazovian voivode.

If you live abroad, you may file through the Polish consul for your place of residence. Documents may be submitted in person or sent by mail - appearing in person is not required.

Which documents are needed?

The application must be accompanied by documents relevant to establishing citizenship, in particular civil-status records, together with the original of a current identity document.

• birth and marriage records - yours and those of the ancestor through whom you trace citizenship,
• documents evidencing that ancestor's Polish citizenship,
• the applicant's current identity document.

Every document in a foreign language must be translated into Polish by a sworn translator or by a consul. This applies to American civil-status records as well.

An American document filed directly with a Polish authority also needs an apostille. Polish missions in the United States list it as a requirement for documents issued outside the European Union in states that are parties to the Hague Convention. An apostille confirms the authenticity of the signature and the capacity in which the signatory acted; it does not cure the content of a document. It is not needed for a Polish copy of a record created by transcription, because that is already a Polish document.

The application form asks for details of your parents and grandparents and for the circumstances that matter for the case (Article 56). Documents supporting those details must be attached, unless obtaining them meets obstacles that are hard to overcome - so a gap in the records is something to explain in the application, not automatically the end of it. Documents that Polish authorities issued to the ancestor, such as a passport, an identity card or military records, are usually the most direct evidence.

What does it cost?

The stamp duty for a decision confirming that Polish citizenship is held or has been lost is PLN 277. Filing through a Polish mission in the United States carries an additional consular fee of USD 118. The PLN 277 rate has applied since August 1, 2025; until then the fee was PLN 58, a figure many guides still quote.

Beyond that you should expect the cost of sworn translations and of obtaining copies of civil-status records. These depend on how many documents are involved and are not set by any official schedule.

How long does it take?

The voivode has six months to issue a decision. That is the statutory period for the authority; the time needed beforehand to gather and translate documents depends on what you already hold and on whether records have to be traced in archives.

What happens after the decision?

The decision confirms citizenship; it is not yet a passport. Before a consul can issue one, your U.S. birth record has to be entered into the Polish civil registers by transcription, and you need a PESEL number, Poland's personal identification number, which is requested at the passport appointment itself. The passport application is made in person at a Polish consular office. Our guide on getting a Polish passport in the United States covers the steps and the fees.

What if the decision is negative?

A decision of the voivode may be appealed to the Minister of the Interior and Administration, filed through the voivode who issued it. The deadline is 14 days from service of the decision, and it is strict - once it passes, the route of appeal closes.

How we help

We assess whether there is a basis for confirmation in your case, identify which documents are missing and where they may be held, prepare the application, and handle correspondence with the authority. Under a power of attorney we act for you in Poland, without you needing to travel. Where the family line broke, we check whether restoration is available instead.

This article is general information about Polish law, not legal advice about your situation. Legal basis: the Act of April 2, 2009 on Polish Citizenship (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1611), Articles 3, 14, 46, 55, 56 and 57; the Stamp Duty Act of November 16, 2006 (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1154), schedule, Part I item 27; together with official guidance from the Ministry of the Interior and Administration and from the Polish mission in the United States. Amounts and time limits may change - verify them before filing. If you would like to know how these rules apply to your matter, describe it to us.