I just made a post about my grandfathers line and how I think I’m ineligible for citizenship by descent, but think I’m eligible for KP. I think this is also the case for my grandmothers line, but wanted to confirm.

Great-Grandparents: 
* Date married: 1913
* Date divorced: N/A
GGM: 
* Date, place of birth: 1894ish, Poland (then Russia)
* Ethnicity and religion: Polish and Catholic
* Occupation: Factory worker
* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A
* Date, destination for emigration: 1910?, US
* Date naturalized: Unknown
* Date, place of death: 1970ish, US
GGF: 
* Date, place of birth: 1890ish, Poland (then Russia)
* Ethnicity and religion: Polish and Catholic
* Occupation: Factory worker
* Allegiance and dates of military service: Unknown
* Date, destination for emigration: 1910?, US
* Date naturalized: 1932
* Date, place of death: 1960s?, US
Grandparent: 
* Sex: F
* Date, place of birth: 1928, US
* Date married: 1948
* Citizenship of spouse: US
* Date divorced: N/A
* Occupation: Grocer
* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A
(If applicable)
Date, destination for emigration: N/A
Date naturalized: N/A
Date, place of death: 2000s, US
Parent: 
* Sex: M
* Date, place of birth: 1962, US
* Date married: 1986
* Date divorced: N/A
You: 
* Date, place of birth: 1998, US

After some research I think my line doesn’t work for citizenship by descent. Can anyone confirm and if that’s the case would I be eligible for the Kart Polaka?

Great-Grandparents: 
* Date married: 1921
* Date divorced: N/A
GGM: 
* Date, place of birth: 1890ish, Poland (then Austria)
* Ethnicity and religion: Polish and Catholic
* Occupation: Housewife
* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A
* Date, destination for emigration: 1920?, US
* Date naturalized: Unknown, but if, then after 1932 (had a Polish passport in 1932)
* Date, place of death: 1970, US
GGF: 
* Date, place of birth: 1880ish, Poland (then Austria)
* Ethnicity and religion: Polish and Catholic
* Occupation: Laborer
* Allegiance and dates of military service: Went on exercise for Polish branch of Austrian army in 1904 and 1907
* Date, destination for emigration: 1901, US
* Date naturalized: Prior to 1932 (had a US passport in 1932)
* Date, place of death: 1942, US
Grandparent: 
* Sex: M
* Date, place of birth: 1923, 1923
* Date married: 1948
* Citizenship of spouse: US
* Date divorced: N/A
* Occupation: Factory worker
* Allegiance and dates of military service: US, 1943-1946
(If applicable)
Date, destination for emigration: N/A
Date naturalized: N/A
Date, place of death: 2000ish, US
Parent: 
* Sex: M
* Date, place of birth: 1962, US
* Date married: 1986
* Date divorced: N/A
You: 
* Date, place of birth: 1998, US

Good afternoon, my father was born to Polish parents in 1949. He has never lived in Poland. In March 1992, he went with his father to a consulate of his native country.The consul received the documents submitted and obtained the Polish nationality certificate and his passport, He never bothered to renew that passport, and certain intermediaries have told me that the passport does not prove his Polish citizenship.

Submitted my CBD case Oct 2025 in Warsaw (self-submitted).

Got case number same day and formal letter saying deadline is Jan 2027. I understand current backlog is ~20 months before case is even opened.

Questions:
Is Jan 2027 the right point for ponaglenie / complaint, or too early?

Is it worth getting a lawyer or provider to submit escalation requests on my behalf, or does that make no real difference in practice? Can I do it myself? And if so, can anyone give advice on the procedure? Happy to pay for someone’s time if they are a lawyer on the matter.

Trying to understand what actually works re: escalation process in Warsaw WSC cases.

Thanks!

I'm not eligible for Poland (or Austria, which I can prove gm birth) because of when the family emigrated. The Polish town my gf, and all his ancestors, were born is currently Ukraine. Could I be eligible for Ukraine citizenship under future relaxed rules, or am I just out of luck because it was Poland then?

so after submitting my case to Warsaw at the start of the year I got thinking. If I applied for a temporary residency via a language school in a district in Poland that has almost no case load. could my descent case be seen faster via it being transferred to my domicile area? if anyone has tried or heard about someone trying this I would love to hear how it went.

I’m going to apply for citizenship. I have questions about historical records required.
I luckily have my grandfather’s original naturalization papers that state where he was from in what is now Ukraine.
Can I print the American marriage the license off Ancestry.com?
I seriously doubt any records exist for his village in Volhynia. I’ve written to the archive and they said they have no records.

Great-Grandparents:

·      Date married: 1924 in the U.S.

·      Date divorced: N/A

 

GGM:

·      Date, place of birth: Włocławek, Congress Poland, 1902

·      Ethnicity and religion: German, Lutheran

·      Nationality: Polish

·      Occupation: Housewife

·      Allegiance and dates of military service: None

·      Date, destination for emigration: September 1922, U.S./New York

·      Date naturalized: 1936

·      Citizenship of spouse: U.S.

GGF:

·      Date, place of birth: Bętlewo, Congress Poland, 1902

·      Ethnicity and religion: German, Lutheran

·      Nationality: Polish

·      Occupation: Cabinet maker

·      Allegiance and dates of military service: None

·      Date, destination for emigration: October 1922, U.S./New York

·      Date naturalized: 1934

 

Grandmother:

·      Date, place of birth: U.S., 1928

·      Ethnicity and religion: German, Lutheran

·      Allegiance and dates of military service: None

·      Date married: 1948

·      Citizenship of spouse: U.S.

·      Date divorced: N/A

 

Mother:

·      Date, place of birth: U.S., 1954

·      Allegiance and dates of military service: None

·      Date married: 1972

·      Citizenship of spouse: U.S.

 

Me:

·      Date, place of birth: U.S., 1978

·      Allegiance and dates of military service: None

I'll give an example:

Polish birth certificate that was made 15 YEARS AFTER BIRTH due to Оплотность родителей (Carelessness of the parents) show my GGFs date of birth as 19 May 1899, and that he was born in Ostrowiec (where the certificate was filed). I'm assuming they did this to help him avoid being conscripted.

All US documents show him as being born 15 June 1897, where as the ship manifest confused his and his wife's date of birth and has him being 28 in 1921. It also shows his last place of residence as Luck Poland with his wife, whereas the rest of his family is all from Osiek/Ostrowiec.

His US documents all show his place of birth as Osiek, Poland, whereas his Polish birth certificate shows his place of birth as Ostrowiec. The only thing connecting the rest of the family to Osiek/Ostrowiec is that his brother's entry (which also shows the same father and mother's name) in the residence book in Ostrowiec shows his place of birth being in Osiek as well.

How can they be sure that the person we're referencing in US documents is the same GGF that we're connecting him to in Poland? I'm assuming that this is why my provider said that my case is not 100%, and more like 60-70%.

I am currently considering obtaining Confirmation of Citizenship (through my Polish Grandfather who arrived in the UK after serving under Anders in WW2).

Before I start paying someone to look for Grandfather's family records in Poland and Lithiuania (he was born in Wilno), I have concerns that his stated occupation in the UK "Lengthman, British Railways" (basically a track repairman) may fall foul of the 'serving in a foreign public office before 1951' rule. His occupation is detailed on both his marriage certificate (1950) and my mother's birth certificate (1952).

What are the chances my application would be rejected on this basis?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently helping my friend with her process of confirming Polish citizenship and would like help from the community to make sure we’re doing everything correctly and on the right path. I’d appreciate it if you could let me know if there are any holes in our plan or things we are missing. We are currently in the process of gathering documents.

The claim runs directly down the maternal line, starting with her Great-Grandfather. Here is the breakdown using the community template:

1. Lineage Timeline

• Great-Grandparents:
  • Date married: We don’t know the exact date or where, but sometime during WWII.
• Great-Grandmother (GGM):
  • Date, place of birth: 1920, Dęblin, Poland
  • Ethnicity and religion: Jewish
  • Occupation: Tailor
  • Date, destination for emigration: Went to a DP camp in Austria after WWII, then the USA in April 1951.
  • Date naturalized: 1956 (U.S. A-File exists)
  • Date, place of death: 2000s, USA
• Great-Grandfather (GGF) — Anchor Ancestor:
  • Date, place of birth: 1921, Volhynia, Poland (Now Rivne Oblast, Ukraine)
  • Ethnicity and religion: Jewish
  • Occupation: Laborer
  • Allegiance and dates of military service: No known military service we can find.
  • Date, destination for emigration: Went to a DP camp in Austria after WWII, then the USA in April 1951.
  • Date naturalized: 1956 (U.S. A-File exists)
  • Date, place of death: Sometime from the 1990s–2000s, USA
• Grandparent (GF):
  • Sex: Male
  • Date, place of birth: 1947, Austria
  • Date married: 1968, USA
  • Citizenship of spouse: American
  • Date divorced: N/A
  • Occupation: Private sector
  • Allegiance and dates of military service: I don’t know the exact dates, but he enlisted in the U.S. Army for 2 years during Vietnam (Not drafted).
  • Date, destination for emigration: 1951 (Emigrated as a minor child with parents)
  • Date naturalized: Derived citizenship automatically as a minor child when his parents naturalized in the US. Listed explicitly as a minor on the father's naturalization petition.
  • Date, place of death: 2020s, USA
• Parent:
  • Sex: Female
  • Date, place of birth: 1971, USA
  • Date married: Sometime in the 1990s, USA
  • Date divorced: 2020
• Applicant:
  • Sex: Female
  • Date, place of birth: 2000, USA

2. Documentation Status

I am aware we will need certified copies of everything, will have to get the U.S. documents all apostilled, and will eventually need sworn translations of all non-Polish documents.

What we currently have / are actively processing:

• Her U.S. Birth Certificate
• Her Mom’s U.S. Birth Certificate
• Her Mom and Dad’s U.S. Marriage Certificate
• Her Grandfather’s Austrian Birth Certificate (Currently getting the international multilingual version so it will contain Polish translations already.)
• Her Grandfather’s U.S. Marriage Certificate
• Her Grandfather’s U.S. Death Certificate
• Her Great-Grandfather’s A-File (Which will contain the naturalization petitions containing himself and her grandfather.)
• Her Great-Grandfather’s U.S. Death Certificate
• Whatever documentation the Polish IPN holds of her Great-Grandfather. (They didn’t say what they have, just that they have his file. Hopefully, it’ll contain a passport or some other official documentation on that level confirming citizenship before they left Poland for Austria.)

3. Notes and Questions

1. We found a Central Committee of Polish Jews (CKŻP) Registration Card for her Great-Grandfather. It lists his DOB/POB, pre-war address, post-war address, his immediate family, and where he went during the war. We are under the impression this document confirms he was Polish before the war, lived in Poland before the war, and went back to Poland and retained his citizenship after the war. Is this correct? This document is also what gave us the impression the IPN may have a passport for her Great-Grandfather.
2. Will we need to provide a Birth Certificate for her Great-Grandfather? We already contacted the Warsaw archives, Ukrainian Volhynian, and Rivne Oblast archives and they all don’t have it. The U.S. archive worker helping us get the A-Files also said this: “Both files contain a document from the 'Displaced Persons Visa Office' certifying that birth, marriage, and police records are not available 'at this time' (xx/xx/1951). This document is included in the visa packet from the consulate in Austria.”
3. We currently do not know where her Great-Grandparents got married. We know it was sometime around the WWII years. The A-File should provide some information on this, but the archive worker already confirmed a marriage certificate is not included in either Great-Grandparent’s A-File. All of the other supporting documentation says that they are married, we just don’t know where the MC is. Will we need it?
4. Will she need to provide any paperwork regarding her mom and dad’s divorce since she was an adult when it happened?
5. We know we will need a genealogist or lawyer to assist with the IPN request. Does anyone have any recommendations?
6. If our understanding is correct, this should be a straightforward case. Would it be advised to work with lawyers or a service to help with the final application?
7. Also, what's the average timeline people are seeing these days? I saw a few posts saying their decision took almost 2 years.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this and help us out!

My family is just finishing up getting the documents we need. We already have a trip to Italy planned for my Grandfather's 85th birthday. We decided to go to Poland after our time in Italy to see where my GGF was born. We are planning to bring the documents and hand them off to our provider; has anyone else done this? Is this a good idea?

Another question: we have the real marriage certificate of my GGF (married in Chicago), but we do not have copies. I am going to submit to get copies, but it is quite a thing in Cook County, Illinois. Does anyone have experience switching out a real document with a copy after submission of the application?

So my provider said I'd never sent him a document that he had previously confirmed getting (dhl express).

Said it was not in the envelope he remembers seeing it wasn't there, but allegedly instead of telling me he confirmed receipt and let me know 4.5 months later when he needed it urgently (thinking about it now maybe he just opened it in 4.5 months delay hence the clear memory. But still it was there).

I thought it was specific to them but now I've read a post from another redittor describing the same behavior in a different provider.

Ppl were unimpressed

Is this a cultural difference I'm missing? Is this normal for Polish service providers?

Just started my Lexmotion journey to obtain Citizenship through my Polish grandad that had to move due to being taken by the Germans in WW2.

Made this post to update you on the timeline of events on how long it takes for this whole process and if it is successful for me (23M) and my brother (20M). We both currently live in the UK.

Just wondering how long it took for everyone else? We have just paid for the document search today 30th June 2026 but have provided a lot of the documents we have to help assist them.

Will update here when we progress!

I think I don't qualify because of the jus soli minor exception for my GGF, but I wanted to get a second opinion before giving up.

Great-Great-Grandparents

- Date married: 1911

- Date divorced: N/A

- GGGM

- Date, place of birth: 1891, Rajmundów

- Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic

- Occupation: Homemaker

- Allegiance and dates of military service: None

- Date, destination for emigration: 1913, USA

- Date naturalized: 1932

- Date, place of death: 1963, USA

- GGGF

- Date, place of birth: 1885, Dębina, Lublin

- Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic

- Occupation: vegetable grower in Poland, factory worker in USA

- Allegiance and dates of military service: Russian reservist, circa 1911

- Date, destination for emigration: 1913, USA

- Date naturalized: 1932

- Date, place of death: Unknown

Great-Grandparents

- Date married: between 1930-1940

- Date divorced: N/A

- GGM

- Date, place of birth: 1918, USA

- Ethnicity and religion: Prussian

- Occupation: Homemaker

- Allegiance and dates of military service: None

- Date, destination for emigration: N/A, born a USA citizen

- Date naturalized: N/A, born a USA citizen

- Date, place of death: 1995, USA

- GGF

- Date, place of birth: 1914, USA

- Ethnicity and religion: Polish, Roman Catholic

- Occupation: Machinist

- Allegiance and dates of military service: None

- Date, destination for emigration: N/A, born a USA citizen

- Date naturalized: N/A, born a USA citizen

- Date, place of death: 1999, USA

Grandparent

- Sex: M

- Date, place of birth: 1948, USA

- Date married: 1967

- Citizenship of spouse: USA

- Date divorced: N/A

- Occupation: Draftsman/Engineer

- Allegiance and dates of military service: None

- Date, destination for emigration: N/A, born a USA citizen

- Date naturalized: Birth

- Date, place of death: N/A, currently alive

Parent

- Sex: F

- Date, place of birth: 1968, USA

- Date married: 1997

- Date divorced: N/A

You

- Date, place of birth: 1998, USA

Thanks for your help!

Hi all -- thanks for all the feedback on my first post.

I have reached out to providers and am seeking to get the rest of the necessary documents, and wondering if I need to request the "No Record Found" U.S. military documents in my case.

My line was GGF -> GM -> Mom -> Me

GGF was born 1892, arrived in NY, USA 1911 and naturalized in 1924, though he died in 1944.

GM was born in 1931 in NY, USA, my mom was born in 1963 NY, USA.

I have census and career records keeping him in Yonkers at his occupation of hat maker and he died prior to the end of the U.S. being in the Allied forces -- and the chain following him is matrilineal.

I did some search and digging into Polish law on what you can do if documents literally do not exist and found this:

For anyone in a similar situation, consider submitting an oświadczenie (sometimes called an oświadczenie pisemne or, in its most legally weighted form, an oświadczenie złożone pod rygorem odpowiedzialności karnej - a statement made under penalty of criminal liability).

Under Polish law, It is explicitly contemplated under Polish administrative practice. The Mazowiecki Urząd Wojewódzki’s official guidance states that where documents contain discrepancies in personal data not resulting from official changes or documents cannot reasonably be produced (because they no longer exist), applicants must attach an oświadczenie explaining the reasons. More importantly, Article 220 of the Kodeks postępowania administracyjnego (Code of Administrative Procedure) prohibits a public administrative authority from demanding documentation without citing the specific legal provision requiring it. If your representative keeps asking for something that doesn’t exist without explaining why they need it legally, that is a procedural issue on their end, not yours.

For pre-1920 Austrian Partition cases specifically, where families - particularly poor Galician Jewish families - often never registered civil marriages due to cost, taxes, and fear of government identification, the nonexistence of a marriage record is not a gap. It is a documented historical pattern. An oświadczenie explaining this, supported by whatever circumstantial evidence ties the family together (birth records, census records, immigration manifests, death certificates, etc.), is a legal substitute.

The process in the US:

1. Draft the oświadczenie as a formal affidavit. Sign it before a jurat, not a notary, swearing under oath that the contents are true), which I did yesterday.

2. Might need to have an apostille but my state is literally closed until Tuesday to celebrate July 4 (who does that?!) but can do it through your state, not the US DOS. Waiting on confirmation whether this is needed or if the sworn statement before a jurat will suffice. If not, I’m driving to Tallahassee - not leaving this to chance in the mail.

3. Send the apostilled or sworn statement in original English to your provider for certified Polish translation and submission. I notified Polaron yesterday/this morning that I had written it, sworn to its contents ,and will be overnighting it when the state opens back up (again, who does that?!) and I can confirm what is needed. If your representative has a translation contract (as part of their service agreement), the translation is on them, not you.

4. Also worth knowing: the zaświadczenie o braku aktu (certificate confirming no record exists) is a separate official document that can be requested directly from the Polish State Archive. Ask the provider to do this as well (I included it in my email this morning). If your representative hasn’t requested one of these, ask them to do so by name.

5. In addition, I sent Polaron a digital copy (will follow with an official) of my GGGM death record from Yad Vashem listing the place and date she was murdered (Brzezany, 1943) which coincides with the same exact town they listed on land records in 1921 and the town where my GGP were both born, so demonstrating continuous ties to Poland since it was one of the documents they asked for.

I also documented every single document I have sent them so far in the email and requested confirmation that each had been translated and submitted.

This case is genuinely weird and nuanced but the legal framework for handling it exists, just requires knowing where to look and the process for it.

Polaron said they are having an office meeting on July 9 to discuss the next steps on my case. I genuinely expect them to say “she’s being a pain the neck at this point” and drop me. But the fact that I have had to research the law on this myself at nearly every step has not left me with good faith they have handled this correctly. So I did ask for the name and contact information of the official that currently has my case so if they do drop me as a client, I can pick up with them and hopefully not need to start from the beginning with someone else.

I’m trying to do everything I proactively can to keep from being rejected and needing to appeal or sue. The chain is solid - you just need to understand how to apply it.

Anyone else in a similar situation - now or in the future - don’t give up! If you know you’re on the right side, be as proactive as possible and fight for yourself. It’s genuinely worth it.

Hi all,

I’m researching the fate of my great-grandfather, a miner and steelworker from Upper Silesia, who was almost certainly deported by Soviet forces in early 1945 during the mass deportations of Upper Silesian civilians to the USSR as part of the Tragedia Górnośląska.

The last official evidence that he was still alive comes from a Wehrmacht document from January 1945 concerning one of his 17-year-old sons, who had been compulsorily conscripted. The document lists my great-grandfather at his home address in Upper Silesia. After the Soviet occupation a short time later, he disappeared and was never heard from again. No death certificate exists.

I have already checked Dariusz Węgrzyn’s Księga Aresztowanych, Internowanych i Deportowanych z Górnego Śląska do ZSRR w 1945 roku and found no entry for him, although I’m aware that this may simply reflect gaps in the surviving documentation rather than proof that he was not deported.

I’d now like to submit a formal request to the IPN in Katowice to determine whether any documentation relating to him exists in their holdings. I have a few questions for anyone who has gone through this process:

For a deceased relative with no death certificate (presumed deceased based on age and wartime disappearance), is the standard wniosek o udostępnienie dokumentów dotyczących zmarłej osoby najbliższej under Article 30 of the IPN Act the correct procedure?

The IPN service description states that a death certificate or a court declaration of death is generally required, but also mentions an exception where the death is a fakt znany organowi z urzędu.
I think it’s quite obvious that my GGF isn’t alive anymore, but is the IPN really that generous as to recognize this without formal proof?

I live in Germany and have access to an EU qualified electronic signature under the eIDAS Regulation. Has anyone successfully submitted an Article 30 request to IPN electronically using a qualified electronic signature, or does IPN still insist on a notarised handwritten signature (or certification through a Polish consulate) for this type of application?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

Looking for expert insights on a very specific loophole under the 1920 Polish Citizenship Act:

1. The Ancestor: My great-great-grandfather was born in 1894 in Congress Poland (Białaszewo). He migrated to Brazil and never naturalized, making him a Polish citizen ex lege in 1920 under Article 2, Paragraph 1(a).
2. The Issue: My great-grandfather was born in Brazil in 1916 out of wedlock (thus holding Brazilian jus soli citizenship).
3. The Twist: In 1931, the Polish father legally recognized him and married the mother. At this time, my great-grandfather was 15 years old (a minor under 18).

We want to invoke Article 6 of the 1920 Act, which states that an illegitimate child under 18 acquires the father's citizenship through subsequent marriage/recognition.

Does the 1931 minor legitimation (Art 6) successfully cure the 1916 pre-1920 foreign birth restriction? Has anyone seen the Urząd Wojewódzki or the NSA approve a chain based on this exact scenario?

Template:

Great-Grandparents:

• Date married: 1937
• Date divorced: N/A

GGM:

• Date, place of birth: Born in Brazil in 1921
• Ethnicity and religion: Polish descent
• Occupation: N*/A*
• Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A
• Date, destination for emigration: N/A
• Date naturalized: Brazilian citizen by birth (jus soli)
• Date, place of death: Brazil, 1975

GGF:

• Date, place of birth: 1916, Brazil
• Ethnicity and religion: Polish descent
• Occupation: N*/A*
• Allegiance and dates of military service: N*/A*
• Date, destination for emigration: N/A
• Date naturalized: Born Brazilian (jus soli). Recognized by his Polish father (Feliks Mikulski, b. 1894 in Poland) in 1930 through marriage while a minor (14 years old).
• Date, place of death: Brazil.

Grandparent:

• Sex: Female
• Date, place of birth: Brazil, 1945
• Date married: N*/A*
• Citizenship of spouse: Brazilian
• Date divorced: N*/A*
• Occupation: Teacher
• Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A
• Date, destination for emigration: N/A
• Date naturalized: N/A
• Date, place of death: N*/A*

Parent:

• Sex: Female
• Date, place of birth: 1966, Brazil
• Date married: N/A
• Date divorced: N/A

You:

• Date, place of birth: 1999, Brazil