The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland is preparing new rules for obtaining citizenship for foreigners. The authorities want to strengthen the requirements for residence, language knowledge, and integration into Polish society. This is reported by InPoland citing the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Poland wants to abolish the «automatic» granting of citizenship
The Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that citizenship should be granted only to those foreigners who are genuinely connected to Polish culture and the state.
After the changes in the country, it is planned to abandon the «automatism» in granting passports and focus on the actual integration of a person into society.
The department also emphasized that Poland wants to avoid the mistakes of other European countries that previously simplified citizenship acquisition procedures.
What new requirements are being prepared for foreigners
One of the main changes may be an increase in the period of legal residence in Poland to eight years:
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three years of temporary residence;
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five years of permanent residence.
Foreigners are also planned to be obliged to take a state test on the history of Poland and constitutional values.
In addition, candidates for citizenship will have to confirm their tax residency and submit an act of loyalty to Poland.
Separately, the authorities want to strengthen the requirements for knowledge of the Polish language. The Ministry of Internal Affairs states that citizenship must be an «earned privilege» rather than a formal procedure.
It should be noted that in 2025, more than 10 thousand Ukrainian citizens obtained Polish citizenship.