The Ministry of the Interior and Administration has prepared a draft amendment to the law that makes the procedure for obtaining Polish citizenship more difficult. Foreign nationals are proposed to be required to pass a mandatory exam, to raise the language requirement and to extend the period of legal residence.
The draft provides for an exam on knowledge of Poland; the list of test questions has not yet been published. The language threshold is planned to be raised from the current B1 to B2, and the specific length of any extended legal residence is not specified in the document.
Applicants are being offered more thorough checks of their financial situation: tax residence will be established and a minimum income level set. An additional condition will be proof of legal right to reside at a specific address and the submission of a declaration of loyalty to the Republic of Poland.
The draft broadens the list of grounds for refusal to recognise someone as a Polish citizen, in particular for forged documents, false information or if a person poses a threat to state security or public order; in some cases refusal will be mandatory. It also proposes the possibility of revoking acquired citizenship if it was obtained on the basis of false statements or forged documents, and the gradual abolition of the simplified procedure provided for in Article 38 of the Polish Citizenship Act.
