Polish Citizenship by Descent (2025 Guide)

If you’ve uncovered Polish ancestry in your family tree, you might qualify for Polish citizenship by descent. Whether your ancestors were Polish Jews, emigrants before 1920, or citizens who left Poland during political upheavals — there’s a legal path to restoring Polish citizenship and obtaining a Polish passport.

Citizenship by descent in Poland allows you to claim citizenship through your Polish ancestors — even if you or your parents were born outside of Poland. Under Polish law, if your ancestor held Polish citizenship and never officially renounced it, that citizenship may have been passed down to you automatically.

In other words, having a Polish grandparent, great-grandparent, or even earlier ancestor could make you eligible. However, your case will depend on specific dates, historical documents, and legal interpretation, which is why expert guidance is often essential.

If your great-grandparent emigrated after 1920, the path to citizenship is typically clearer and more favorable. Why? Because 1920 marks the year Poland reestablished independence and began systematically registering its citizens.
Anyone officially recognized as a Polish citizen after 1920 could pass citizenship to their children — unless they lost it by, for example, acquiring foreign citizenship or serving in a foreign army before 1951.
So, if your ancestor left Poland after 1920 and retained their Polish citizenship, there's a strong chance you qualify for Polish citizenship by descent.

Obtaining Polish citizenship by descent when your great-grandparent emigrated before 1920 is more complex. Prior to 1918, Poland was partitioned and under the rule of Austria, Russia, and Prussia — meaning that someone born in Warsaw in 1895, for instance, was not legally a Polish citizen, as Poland did not exist as an independent state.

However, if that person remained in Poland after 1920 and acquired citizenship or was recorded in official state registers, you may still qualify. In such cases, the process requires deeper legal verification and more extensive documentation.

Polish citizenship by descent for individuals of Jewish ancestry is a common and important case. Many families with Jewish roots trace their heritage back to Poland, with ancestors who emigrated during or after World War II.

Polish law does not distinguish by ethnicity or religion, so Jewish descendants have the same right to reclaim citizenship as anyone else. However, documentation can be more difficult to obtain due to wartime destruction or loss of records.

The key factor is proving that your ancestor was a Polish citizen and did not lose their citizenship before passing it on. This is where legal guidance becomes crucial.

At Residence Angels, we’ve helped hundreds of clients apply for Polish citizenship by descent from over 40 countries, including descendants of Polish citizens who emigrated before and after 1920.

We specialize in:

• Legal analysis of Polish descent citizenship eligibility
• Document search in Polish archives
• Translation and legalization
• Full application support

We’ve helped clients with Polish Jewish citizenship by descent, those with partial records, and even highly complex lineage.

➡️ Contact us to begin your journey toward becoming a Polish citizen by descent.