Poland Tightens Passport Rules, Keeping Naturalization Test and Residence Permits

(POLAND) — Poland kept several routes open to citizenship and a Polish passport under rules in force on May 13, 2026, even after the Ministry of the Interior and Administration tightened naturalization requirements announced on November 21, 2025.

The changes extended the residence period for naturalization from 3 years to 5 years on a permanent residence permit with tax residency, added a loyalty declaration, and introduced a naturalization test with B2-level Polish covering history, language, politics, economics, social developments, and Polish values. They also set fees of 1,669 PLN for presidential approval and 1,000 PLN for recognition by a voivode.

Those changes did not alter confirmation or recognition of citizenship, including descent-based claims. Polish citizenship still brings eligibility for a Polish passport, and the active recognition criteria published on the ministry portal remain in place.

One route remains available to foreign nationals who have lived continuously and legally in Poland for at least 3 years on a permanent residence permit, an EU long-term residence permit, or a right of permanent residence. That path also requires stable and regular income in Poland and the right to occupy a dwelling unit.

Another path covers people who have lived continuously and legally in Poland for at least 2 years on a permanent residence permit, an EU long-term residence permit, or a right of permanent residence, and who are either married to a Polish citizen for at least 3 years or are stateless. Refugees granted status in Poland can also seek recognition after 2 years of continuous legal residence on that basis.

Children also remain within the recognition system. A minor under 18 can qualify if legally residing in Poland on a permanent residence permit, an EU long-term residence permit, or a right of permanent residence, with one parent holding Polish citizenship and the other parent consenting.

A separate child pathway applies when at least one parent has had Polish citizenship restored. In that case, a minor under 18 who is legally residing in Poland on a permanent residence permit, an EU long-term residence permit, or a right of permanent residence can be recognized if the other parent, when not a citizen, consents.

Poland also kept open a longer residence track for people who have lived continuously and legally in the country for at least 10 years with a permanent residence permit, an EU long-term residence permit, or a right of permanent residence. That route, like the 3-year one, requires stable and regular income and the right to occupy a dwelling unit in Poland.

The shortest residence-based path remains available to a person who has lived continuously and legally in Poland for at least 1 year with a permanent residence permit obtained due to Polish origin or as a Polish Card, or Karta Polaka, holder. Across the recognition system, applicants must meet at least one of seven residence-based paths.

Common requirements still run through much of that system. Applicants seeking recognition through a voivode must provide B1-level Polish language certification, show stable income where the route requires it, and show dwelling rights where those rules apply.

The procedure itself remains administrative rather than discretionary. An applicant files with the voivode, submits the required documents, pays stamp duty of 1,000 PLN for recognition, and provides the B1 Polish certificate.

Children under 18 automatically gain citizenship if the parent is recognized. That rule keeps family cases tied closely to the parent’s outcome rather than forcing a separate citizenship track after recognition is granted.

Citizenship by descent, sometimes handled as confirmation of existing citizenship, remains untouched by the November changes. Direct descendants of Polish nationals, including Polish Jews, can still qualify without residence requirements and without the new test requirements attached to naturalization.

That route turns on documents, not years spent in Poland. An applicant must prove direct lineage from a Polish ancestor born in Poland or holding citizenship, and there is no generational limit if the documentation chain is complete.

Parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents can form part of that chain if records establish the link. Applications can be made through a consulate or in Poland, and the burden falls on showing the family line clearly enough for confirmation.

The presidential grant, which functions as Poland’s discretionary naturalization route, also remains available, though it now sits under tighter rules. As of early 2026, the new president had issued 4 decrees granting citizenship to 25 individuals and denying 18.

That route now carries a fee of 1,669 PLN, and the integration test and loyalty rules apply to it. Even so, the early decrees show that exceptional cases still receive approval under the presidential power.

Once citizenship is confirmed, recognized, or granted, the rights are the same. All Polish citizens, regardless of whether citizenship came through descent, recognition, or naturalization, can apply for a Polish passport.

The passport application comes after citizenship is established and is made at a passport office with citizenship documents. For people pursuing descent cases, the practical work often lies in locating birth records, proof of citizenship, and the documents needed to connect each generation in the chain.

The ministry’s official application portal for recognition cases is [apply to be recognised as a Polish citizen](https://www.gov.pl/web/mswia-en/apply-to-be-recognised-as-a-polish-citizen). The same ministry changes that tightened naturalization also changed rules on collective accommodation, restricting it to elderly, disabled, and pregnant Ukrainians, and set a 15 PLN-per-day fee for pensioners, but those measures do not alter citizenship paths.

The result is a narrower naturalization system, but not a closed one. People with the right residence history, a qualifying family connection, refugee status, Polish origin, or a complete ancestral record still have routes to citizenship, and with it the right to seek a Polish passport.