An April 2, 2009 amendment to the law on Polish Citizenship changes the rules concerning the acquisition of Polish citizenship and introduces a new procedure, namely the restitution of Polish citizenship. The new regulations also abolish the obligation to renounce former citizenship by the person intending to acquire Polish citizenship.

In the case of children born to mixed (international) marriages it will no longer be necessary to choose the citizenship, which means that a child born to such marriage will have Polish citizenship and will also be able to have the citizenship of another country. Pursuant to the current provisions, a child born to a international marriage where one of the parents is a Polish citizen gains the Polish citizenship automatically by blood. However, the parents may make a statement up to three month from the child’s birth that they also choose foreign citizenship for their child.

Contact person: Monika Proskura, mpr@pnplaw.pl