2026-01-09 17:48
publication
2026-01-09 17:48
On Friday, MPs voted in favor of rejecting the draft bill authored by PiS regarding the rules for granting Polish citizenship in the first reading. He assumed, among others: extending the period after which foreigners could apply for it to ten years.
240 MPs voted in favor of the Civic Coalition's motion to reject the project, 200 were against and no one abstained.
Law and Justice MPs submitted a parliamentary bill amending the Act on Polish Citizenship in October. According to it, obtaining it would be more difficult than before. During the entire period, extended to ten years, the foreigner would have to live permanently in Poland and have a stable income. In the case of marriages between Poles and foreigners, the foreigner would have to permanently reside in Poland for six years to obtain Polish citizenship.
During the debate on the project, the Deputy Minister of Interior and Administration, Magdalena Roguska, reminded that work on the government's project of changes was underway, and MPs of all stripes had the opportunity to participate in a two-day conference on this topic. She recommended that the chamber not continue work on it and wait for the government project.
She emphasized, among other things, that the statement that currently granting citizenship takes three years is disinformation.
Paweł Hreniak (PiS), presenting the project on Friday, said that the extension from three to ten years would serve to ensure that foreigners develop a community bond, they also have knowledge of how the Polish state system works and they know the language communicatively. – Through a longer period of stay, we give time for real adaptation – he argued.
The applicant said that a person applying for Polish citizenship would be required to submit, among others: application for confirmation of no criminal record in Poland and in the country of arrival. PiS MPs also wanted a positive opinion about the citizen candidate from the police commander in the area where the foreigner had been staying in Poland for the last ten years.
The draft amendment also included, among others: introducing a requirement to confirm knowledge of the Polish language at level C1 during the compulsory oral and written state citizenship examination.
It also included a proposal for an exam checking knowledge of Polish history, Polish culture and traditions, and the political system.
– The amendment is intended to protect our sovereignty, national identity and social stability. This bill is a necessary step towards strengthening Polish citizenship as a reward for true integration, rather than an automatic right for every newcomer. The bill is intended to prevent people from obtaining Polish citizenship who are not integrated with Poland, pose a threat to our security or may be a financial burden on our budget, explained Hreniak.
According to him, the rapid acquisition of Polish citizenship by migrants, especially Ukrainians, carries the risk of destabilizing the political and social system in Poland. – Massive and rapid granting of citizenship without rigorous verification risks destabilization – he said. He added that this would obviously weaken national unity and cohesion of the state.
One of the initiators of the act – Michał Moskal (PiS) – explained that people who want to obtain Polish citizenship must be aware of cultural values and the foundations that bind our national community.
– If the newcomers who are currently staying on Polish territory do not know what genocide in Volhynia is, do not know what Banderism is for Poland, then they should not be able to apply for citizenship. This is absolutely clear to us, he said. (PAP)
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