Polish citizenship for foreigners: government plans B2 Polish, a citizenship test and new refusal grounds

Polish citizenship for foreigners: what draft bill UD491 proposes

On 27 October 2026 the Polish government's legislative work plan (wykaz prac legislacyjnych Rady Ministrów) received a new entry: a draft act amending the Polish Citizenship Act and certain other acts, reference number UD491. The Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) is in charge, and the government plans to adopt the draft in Q4 2026.

It matters what kind of document this is. The entry sets out goals and main assumptions — it is not the text of a law. We do not yet know how the new requirements will be worded, when they would apply, or whether they would affect applications filed before the change. Once the government adopts the draft, it still has to pass the Sejm and the Senate and be signed by the President. According to Sejm records, on the date of publication the government draft has not been submitted to the Sejm and has no print number. A separate bill on the same subject, submitted by the President in 2025 (print no. 1759), has been referred to committees for first reading.

The ministry says the key criterion should be integration into Polish society — above all knowledge of Polish and respect for social norms — together with limiting risks to state security and public order.

How to get Polish citizenship: two different routes

A foreign national can currently become a Polish citizen in two main ways. This matters because the planned changes affect them differently.

Citizenship granted by the President (nadanie obywatelstwa przez Prezydenta). Under Article 18 of the Polish Citizenship Act of 2 April 2009 (consolidated text: Dz.U. z 2025 r. poz. 1611), the President may grant Polish citizenship to a foreign national. The Act sets no conditions for this route. The application goes through the voivode or a consul, and the decision rests with the President.

Citizenship by recognition (uznanie za obywatela polskiego). The application is filed with the voivode (Article 34), and the Act lists specific conditions (Article 30). Most applicants hold a permanent residence permit, EU long-term resident status or a right of permanent residence and have lived in Poland continuously for the required period. The voivode issues an administrative decision that can be appealed.

The UD491 entry lists changes to citizenship by recognition and to restoration of citizenship (przywrócenie obywatelstwa). It does not mention the presidential route. In its announcement of 10 October 2025, MSWiA only said it would "consider" conditions for that route as well.

Polish language exam at B2 level and a citizenship test

Today, applicants for citizenship by recognition must prove Polish at level B1 or higher — with an official certificate, a Polish school certificate, or a certificate from a school abroad that teaches in Polish (Article 30(2) of the Act).

Under the government's plan, the recognition route would change as follows:

• the required Polish level would rise from B1 to B2,
• applicants would have to pass a citizenship test (test obywatelski) on knowledge of Poland,
• applicants would have to sign a declaration of loyalty to the Republic of Poland,
• the minimum period of legal residence would be longer — the entry gives no number; in 2025 MSWiA proposed eight years (three years of temporary and five years of permanent residence),
• applicants would need their centre of life and tax residence in Poland,
• a minimum income threshold would be introduced,
• the requirement to show a legal title to housing and a source of income would apply to all applicant groups.

The last point deserves attention. Today the Act requires "a stable and regular source of income and a legal title to occupy a dwelling" only in some cases — for example people with 3 years (Article 30(1)(1)) or 10 years (Article 30(1)(6)) of residence in Poland. Spouses of Polish citizens, for instance, are not covered now. The draft would extend this requirement to everyone.

Refusal of Polish citizenship: new grounds

Today the voivode refuses recognition if the applicant does not meet the conditions or if granting citizenship would threaten national defence, state security or public order (Article 31).

The draft adds mandatory grounds for refusal, including:

• a final criminal conviction,
• fines or penalty notices (mandaty, grzywny) within a set period before the application,
• false information in the application,
• forged documents.

How long that period will be, and whether every fine will count the same way, will only be clear from the text of the draft.

For restoration of citizenship, the plan closes the simplified procedure under Article 38 — applications would be accepted until 31 December 2030 — and adds a loyalty declaration.

Can Polish citizenship be revoked? The constitutional question

Media reports say citizenship obtained with forged documents or lies could be "taken away". The government entry is more precise: it describes a new ground, separate from the Code of Administrative Procedure (KPA), allowing a decision on recognition or restoration of citizenship to be set aside at any time. This would cover forged documents, false statements or concealing the truth — including in earlier residence or Karta Polaka proceedings.

This raises a real constitutional question. Article 34(2) of the Polish Constitution says a Polish citizen cannot lose Polish citizenship unless they renounce it themselves. Any rule that in practice makes someone stop being a citizen against their will has to be measured against that provision. The question is: is setting aside a decision obtained by deception a "loss" of citizenship under the Constitution, or a finding that citizenship was never validly acquired?

That cannot be answered yet: the provision has not been written, and whether it is constitutional will depend on its details. Note also that the KPA already allows proceedings to be reopened if the evidence behind a decision turns out to be forged (Article 145 § 1(1) KPA).

What this means for you

This is not the law yet. The 2009 Act (Dz.U. z 2025 r. poz. 1611) and today's requirements still apply: Polish at B1 level or higher and the conditions in Article 30. There is no reason to rush your application in a panic or change your plans. But do not assume the rules will be the same a year from now.

If you are planning to apply for Polish citizenship, you can already:

• take a Polish language exam — if you can, aim for B2 right away; it also meets today's B1 requirement, and you will not need to sit the exam again if the bar is raised,
• check your residence history — from what date you have lived in Poland continuously on permanent residence or EU long-term resident status, and whether you can prove it,
• collect income and housing documents — employment contracts or other proof of income, tax returns (Polish tax residence), a tenancy agreement or proof of ownership,
• review your record — fines and convictions can already count when public order is assessed.

What not to do: never give false information or submit questionable documents. Today this can already lead to refusal and to proceedings being reopened, and under the plan it would also allow the decision to be set aside at any time.

We are following draft UD491 and will cover its text once the government publishes it. Legal status as of 30 October 2026.