I have Polish Citizenship

Polish citizenship is acquired by blood at birth to Polish parents. In Latin it is called ius sanguinis, right of blood. It is different from Argentina where citizenship is acquired by ius solis, or by being born in Argentine territory.

Before you can know if Polish citizenship applies to you, you must understand the historical context. Poland as a country has 1000 years of history, however there was a time when it disappeared from the map of Europe at the end of the 18th century.

There were three empires, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia, and Russia. Polish territory was divided between them. Below you can see the map of Poland from the 18th century and we can see how the three empires divided the territory of Poland for 123 years. Only after the First World War ended did Poland regain independence in 1918.

After independence, in 1920 the first Polish citizenship law was issued. That law grants Polish citizenship to anyone living in Polish territory, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. People from many different cultures lived in this territory. There were Jews, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Russians, etc.

Therefore citizenship is not the same as nationality. Therefore you could have a Jewish great-grandfather who was a Polish citizen. You could have a Belarusian grandfather who didn't even speak the Polish language, but by law he was a Polish citizen.

We are going to analyze several examples, some in which I have Polish citizenship and others in which I do not.

My great-grandfather Judel Borodowski was born in Zelwa in 1899. At this time there was no Poland, and Zelwa belonged to Russia. Today it is part of Belarus.

My great-grandfather did not have Polish citizenship at birth, however some time passed and Poland regained independence. In 1920 my great-grandfather was already 21 years old and still living in Zelwa, which was part of the territory of Poland, so according to the first Polish citizenship law he obtained Polish citizenship. This is where the Polish bloodline begins.

To save himself from the devastating famine that existed in Europe after the First World War, my great-grandfather decided to emigrate to Santa Fe in search of a better life. In Argentina he met my great grandmother Rebecca Bekerstein, who coincidentally was from the same town, Zelwa, and they married in 1930 (It was not necessary for Judel to marry a Polish woman for his children to be Polish because Polish citizenship was transmitted by the father in that era).

They have a daughter, my grandmother Dora in 1934, who also has Polish citizenship for being born to Polish parents according to the law of 1920-1951.

At this time, the Polish citizenship of the minor children as well as the wife was linked to the citizenship of the father; if the father lost his citizenship, the wife and minor children also lost it. My great grandfather was never naturalized in Argentina, since he was born before 1900, if he had been naturalized, his Polish blood line would have been cut. If he had been born from 1901 onwards he would have been able to naturalize because in 1951 the Polish citizenship law changed and men had citizenship protected by obligation to the Polish army until the age of 50.

My grandmother got married in 1956 and had a son who was my father in 1960.

In 1951, the second citizenship law was issued in Poland, which brought many changes. There is no longer any difference whether citizenship comes from the paternal side or the maternal side. The law no longer mentions that one can lose Polish citizenship. By virtue of this new law, my father is also a Polish citizen because he was born to a Polish mother and therefore I am also a Polish citizen and my children will also be Polish citizens.

There were amendments to the Polish citizenship law in 1962, 1975 and 2012. However, these amendments did not bring significant changes. You always have to look at the individual's date of birth to be able to assess whether they obtained Polish citizenship because you have to apply the law that was in force at that time, not the current law.

Now we are going to analyze a second case that shows that not everyone who had a Polish grandfather or great-grandfather has the right to acquire Polish citizenship. We started the same way with my great-grandfather born in Zelwa, then a territory of Russia.

In 1915, in the middle of the First World War, we assume that my great-grandfather emigrated to Argentina. Poland did not yet exist and I would have traveled with a Russian passport. When the first Polish citizenship law was enacted in 1920, he would already be living in Santa Fe; he never obtained Polish citizenship even though he spoke Polish and lived in what would soon become Polish territory. If he had stayed in Zelwa until 1920 he would have received it. He is not a Polish citizen and none of his descendants will be able to obtain Polish citizenship through his bloodline.

Now suppose you instead decide to emigrate in 1921, Poland already exists, and you obtain your Polish citizenship and travel with your Polish passport. In Argentina she married and had her first son Isaac in 1923, then in 1932 she had another son Osher and also a daughter who was born in 1933 named Raquel. We are going to examine the situation of each of your children; all have Polish citizenship for being born to a Polish father.

The oldest Isaac had to join the Argentine army at the age of 21 in 1944, when this happens he loses his Polish citizenship for being part of a foreign army and his Polish bloodline is cut. His descendants are not entitled to Polish citizenship.

Later, Osher, at the age of 21, had to join the Argentine army in 1953. Since the law changed in Poland in 1951, the law of 1951 applies, which no longer removes Polish citizenship for being part of a foreign army. Their children and grandchildren will be able to obtain Polish citizenship.

Raquel decided to marry an Argentine man in 1950, she retains her Polish citizenship but any children born from that marriage before 1951 would not have the right to Polish citizenship because at that time it was transferred only by the father. Any child of that marriage born after 1951 would be entitled to Polish citizenship since in 1951 the law allowed Polish citizenship to be transferred by either parent.

You can see on the map how Poland's borders changed after the Second War. It is estimated that almost half of Poland's territory remained in the hands of the Soviet Union. Poland's territory was also moved west and part of German territory was appropriated. It is important to consider that when trying to find documents of your relatives in the archives because it is very likely that you will have to search for them outside of Poland in what is now Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine.

The current country where your Polish ancestors were born has no bearing on your Polish citizenship because geography is irrelevant in the ius sanguinis system. Polish citizenship flows through your veins.

These examples cover some of the most common cases. There are many additional details that must be considered when evaluating whether Polish citizenship applies to you. The best way to determine if you are eligible for Polish citizenship is to complete the assessment. HERE and then arranging a free consultation with one of our experts.