There has been a lot of misinformation circulating for decades about the requirements for obtaining Polish Citizenship by descent. This misinformation began to be spread by the Polish embassy in Argentina through an informational brochure that can be seen below. Since the information came directly from the Polish embassy, this myth became firmly entrenched in the minds of Polish citizenship processors for over twenty years and deprived thousands of families of the Polish citizenship that rightfully belongs to them.
Today, I will decisively correct that misinformation so that all those who were once denied the opportunity to present their case for obtaining Polish citizenship now have the chance to do so.
You have no chance of applying for Polish citizenship because a Polish woman married a foreigner before 1951. This infamous phrase was said by the administrators, and it is based on point 2 of the informational brochure from the embassy:
The misinformation is based on Article 10 of the 1920 Polish Citizenship Law.
Spanish Translation of Article 10.
Article 10. A Polish female citizen who, having married a foreigner, has lost Polish citizenship, may regain it if she submits the relevant application at an administrative office in her place of residence when her marriage ends and she settles in Poland.
You can find the original Article 10 in Polish HERE.
The misinterpretation of the law is that any woman who married a foreigner (non-Polish) before 1951 automatically loses Polish Citizenship. This is completely false.
The old Polish Citizenship Law does not allow a woman to have dual citizenship. Therefore, if under the legislation of the foreign country, a Polish woman by marrying a citizen of that country acquired her husband’s citizenship, then by obtaining foreign citizenship, she lost her Polish citizenship. But the loss of Polish Citizenship is not a direct result of the marriage, it is the result of acquiring the husband’s Citizenship.
Hay pocos países donde sucedía esto y hay que analizar cada caso particular para ver si la mujer realmente adquiría la ciudadanía del esposo. Hay casos que si la pareja se casó fuera del país natal del hombre, por ejemplo si se casaron en Argentina, el país del marido no reconocía el matrimonio, y por ende la mujer no adquiría la ciudadanía del marido.
The old Polish Citizenship Law does not allow a woman to have dual citizenship. Therefore, if under the legislation of the foreign country, a Polish woman by marrying a citizen of that country acquired her husband’s citizenship, then by obtaining foreign citizenship, she lost her Polish citizenship. But the loss of Polish Citizenship is not a direct result of the marriage, it is the result of acquiring the husband’s Citizenship.
Example Where the Woman Does NOT Lose Polish Citizenship: According to Argentine legislation, citizenship is not acquired through marriage, so women retained Polish citizenship even if they married an Argentine before 1951.
A woman who married an Argentine did NOT acquire Argentine citizenship and therefore did NOT lose Polish citizenship, so her descendants QUALIFY for Polish citizenship.
Here at My Polish Passport, we receive rejected cases like this every day. People are amazed when we tell them they definitely qualify for Polish citizenship. We have helped clients who cry tears of joy when they obtain Polish citizenship because they finally received what they were entitled to by right, twenty years after their first attempt.
We are extremely confident in our correct interpretation of the law. Consult us if you were told that you do not qualify because a woman married a foreigner before 1951. We will take your case and refund 100% of your money if the submission to the Polish government is denied (though we have never had a case rejected for this reason).
Check if you qualify with our quick Polish Citizenship assessment HERE.