Poland: the government is preparing stricter citizenship rules - B2 Polish, a test and a longer residence period

In brief

• Draft UD491 amending the Act on Polish Citizenship was published in the list of legislative work of the Council of Ministers on 27 October 2026. The Ministry of the Interior and Administration is responsible.
• For recognition as a citizen, applicants would live in Poland longer, pass the language at B2, take a civic test and swear an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Poland.
• Applicants would have to prove that their centre of life and tax residence are in Poland, have a minimum income, legal title to housing and means of support.
• Simplified restoration of citizenship for people who lost it before 1999 would remain available only until 31 December 2030.
• A decision on recognition or restoration could be revoked at any time if it turns out the applicant filed false documents or concealed the truth.
• For now this is a plan. There is no bill text yet, and no specific periods or amounts in the description. The current law applies: B1, and 1 to 10 years of residence depending on the basis.

What happened

In Poland every ministerial bill first enters the list of legislative work of the Council of Ministers. It is a public register on the government portal: it shows the draft number, the responsible ministry, the reasons for change, the substance of the proposed solutions and the planned adoption date. An entry does not mean the law has been passed. But it shows that the government has formally taken up the subject and knows what it wants to achieve.

The draft is numbered UD491 and is titled "Draft act amending the Act on Polish Citizenship and certain other acts". The Ministry of the Interior and Administration drafts it and submits it to the government; the responsible person is a Secretary of State at the ministry. The entry was published on the portal on 27 October 2026. The Council of Ministers plans to adopt the draft in the fourth quarter of 2026, that is, before the end of the year.

This continues Poland's broader move towards a stricter migration policy. We previously reported that foreigners entering the country must show sufficient funds for their stay. Now the turn has come for the last step many people move for: Polish citizenship, and with it citizenship of the European Union.

Why the government is changing the law

In the draft description the government explains that the 2009 citizenship act was written for a different situation. There are many more foreigners in Poland now, and many more citizenship applications. The ministry wants to check more closely whether a person has a genuine connection with Poland, and to better protect state security and public order.

The second argument concerns the European Union. A Polish passport gives the rights of an EU citizen: to live, work and study in any member state. That is why the government calls integration, above all knowledge of the language and social norms, a key condition. The draft relies on two Council of Ministers strategies: the migration strategy for 2025-2030 adopted on 15 October 2024, and the strategy for cooperation with Poles abroad of 1 April 2025.

Poland is not alone. Other European countries are debating similar bills: Ireland proposes 8 years of residence, Italy a B1 language requirement and revocation of citizenship. We looked at the overall picture in our analysis of why the path to citizenship in Europe is getting longer.

How to get Polish citizenship now

A foreigner has two main routes in Poland. The first is a grant of citizenship by the President of Poland. The law sets no mandatory conditions for it, the decision is at the President's discretion, and processing times are unpredictable. The second, mass route is recognition as a citizen. The decision is taken by the voivode (regional governor) where the applicant lives, and if all statutory conditions are met, citizenship is recognised. It is mainly this route that the draft changes.

Today recognition as a citizen is possible on seven bases. Almost all require a permanent status: a permanent residence permit, EU long-term resident status or a permanent right of residence. Put simply, you first need permanent residence, and only then does the clock for citizenship start.

Almost all applicants, except children, must prove Polish at B1 level or higher with a state certificate. A certificate from a Polish school, or from a school abroad teaching in Polish, can replace it. Since 1 August 2025 the state fee for a recognition decision has been PLN 1,000. The voivode must decide within 6 months, and the period can be extended in complex cases. A refusal can be appealed to the ministry within 14 days, then to the administrative court within 30 days.

Before deciding, the voivode asks for the views of the police, the Internal Security Agency and other services. At present citizenship can be refused if a person does not meet the conditions or if granting it would threaten defence, state security or public order.

What this means for you. Until the draft becomes law, the current rules apply. If you already qualify under one of the bases, nothing stops you applying now.

What is proposed

For recognition as a citizen the ministry proposes six new or tighter conditions and new mandatory grounds for refusal. We have put them in a table to compare with the current law.

First, a longer minimum period of legal residence in Poland. The draft description does not say by how many years. Figures now circulating in public debate are not stated in the official document, so we do not repeat them. The exact period will be known when the ministry publishes the bill text.

Second, an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Poland and a civic test on knowledge of the country. Third, a centre of vital interests in Poland and the related tax residence. Fourth, a minimum income level, which the government calls the applicant's self-sufficiency. Fifth, proof of legal title to housing and of a source of support for all groups of applicants, not only some of them as now. Sixth, Polish at B2 instead of B1.

In addition, there will be new mandatory grounds for refusal. They include a final criminal conviction, fines or penalties within a set period before the application, false information in the application and forged documents. While refusal today centres on a threat to security, under the draft the voivode would also be obliged to refuse in these cases.

B2 language and the civic test

The most noticeable change for most people is the language. B1 means a person can manage in everyday and work situations, understands the main points of a conversation and can write a simple text. B2 already requires fluent communication on general and professional topics, understanding of complex texts and reasoned writing. For an adult learning Polish from scratch, the gap between B1 and B2 usually means another year or more of regular study.

A civic test is a new requirement for Poland. The draft description does not say who will run it, how many questions it will have, the pass mark, the cost, or whether there will be exemptions, for example for older people. Experience in other countries shows that such tests usually cover history, the structure of the state, and the rights and duties of citizens. How a language exam works in a neighbouring country is described in our article on the Hungarian language exam.

An oath of allegiance to the Republic of Poland is also new for the recognition procedure. In many countries it is taken at a citizenship ceremony. How it will work in Poland will become clear from the text of the law.

What this means for you. If you plan Polish citizenship in the coming years, start preparing for B2 now, even if you already hold a B1 certificate. A B1 certificate may no longer be enough if the law is adopted without a transition period.

Centre of life, taxes and income

The requirement for a centre of vital interests and tax residence in Poland deserves special attention. Today the law requires continuous residence on a permanent status but does not directly link citizenship to taxes. Under the draft, applicants would have to show that their life and income are concentrated in Poland and that they pay tax as a Polish tax resident.

For people who live between two countries, run a business abroad or earn income from another jurisdiction, this could become the main obstacle. For those whose work and family are in Poland, the requirement will change little. Those who hold permanent status in Poland but spend most of the year in another country should review their tax position in advance.

The minimum income is not stated in the description. The current law requires a stable and regular source of income for some bases, but without an amount. The new rule, judging by the description, will introduce a threshold. Our news on the 2027 minimum wage for foreign workers gives a sense of income levels in Poland, but it is too early to link the citizenship threshold to the minimum wage: the amount will be set by the bill text. Those who work in Poland through their own company will benefit from our company registration in Poland service and properly prepared income records.

Restoration of citizenship until 31 December 2030

The second part of the draft concerns restoration of Polish citizenship. The current law lets a foreigner regain citizenship if they lost it before 1 January 1999 under the old citizenship acts of 1920, 1951 and 1962. This is a simplified route: no language or residence period is required.

The government proposes to phase this route out. Applications for restoration under the current article will be accepted until 31 December 2030. In addition, restoration will require an oath of allegiance to the Republic of Poland, and the grounds for refusal and revocation will be aligned with those for recognition as a citizen.

What this means for you. If you or your parents lost Polish citizenship before 1999, you have until the end of 2030. Gathering archive documents often takes more than a year, so it is better to start now.

Revocation of citizenship for false documents

A separate provision of the draft concerns revoking decisions already taken. The ministry proposes a new ground, independent of the general rules of administrative procedure. A decision on recognition or restoration of citizenship could be revoked at any time if it turns out that the applicant submitted false documents, gave untrue information or concealed important circumstances.

The provision is not limited to the citizenship application itself. It also covers related procedures: obtaining the residence permit on the basis of which the person later became a citizen, and issuing the Card of the Pole. In other words, an error or untruth made years ago when obtaining a residence permit could become grounds for revoking citizenship.

Care with documents at every stage matters here. Translations, apostilles and certificates must be genuine and accurate, and the information in forms must be consistent. Our documents service helps with preparing and legalising papers.

What the draft does not yet say

The description in the list of legislative work is a short outline of the plan, not the text of a law. Several important things are missing. It does not say how many years you will need to live in Poland. It does not state the minimum income. There is no format, cost or exemption list for the civic test. There is no description of a transition period, that is, whether the new rules will apply to applications filed before the law takes effect.

The description also says nothing about changes to the grant of citizenship by the President. That route remains in the law, but it is not guaranteed and has no predictable timeline. Nor does it mention dual citizenship: Polish law does not currently require giving up a previous citizenship. What this means in practice is explained in our glossary entry on dual citizenship.

All these details will appear when the ministry publishes the draft on the government legislative process website and sends it for inter-ministerial agreement and public consultation. We will update this news when the text is available.

When the changes could take effect

A bill in Poland follows this path. The ministry prepares the text and publishes it for agreement with other ministries and public consultation. The Council of Ministers then adopts the draft and sends it to the Sejm. After the Sejm the Senate considers the law, and then the President signs it. Only after publication in the official journal does the law take effect, usually from a later date.

The Council of Ministers plans to adopt the draft in the fourth quarter of 2026. That is a deadline for the government, not the date the law takes effect. Work in parliament can take from several months to a year, the text may change along the way, and the President may send the law back for reconsideration. So it is realistic to expect the new rules no earlier than 2027.

What this means for you. The window for applying under the current rules is open, but nobody can guarantee how long it will last. If your documents are almost ready, do not delay.

Who is affected

The changes will mainly affect foreigners who already live in Poland on a permanent status and plan to apply for recognition as a citizen in the coming years. They include workers and entrepreneurs, spouses of Polish citizens, holders of the Card of the Pole and of permanent residence based on Polish origin, and EU long-term residents.

Those only planning to move to Poland should allow for a longer path: first a residence permit, then permanent status, then a longer period of residence, B2 language and a test. Those considering Poland for an EU passport should compare it with other countries. We compared Hungary and Poland in our side-by-side comparison, and the Hungarian path through naturalisation is covered in a separate article. For those who qualify, there is also simplified Hungarian citizenship. Our article on naturalisation in Portugal also helps compare timelines.

What a Polish passport offers for travel can be seen in the Poland passport index. The basic concepts of how naturalisation works are collected in our glossary.

What to do now

All the citizenship programmes we support are in our citizenship section. The latest news on the subject appears in our citizenship news and the Europe news feed. To go through your situation with a lawyer, book an online consultation; all BRIDGES services are on the home page.

How this article was prepared

Sources: the description of draft UD491 "Draft act amending the Act on Polish Citizenship and certain other acts" in the list of legislative work of the Council of Ministers on gov.pl (Chancellery of the Prime Minister, published on 27 October 2026, responsible body - Ministry of the Interior and Administration, responsible person - Secretary of State Magdalena Roguska); the Act on Polish Citizenship of 2 April 2009 as published in the consolidated text in the Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw) of 2025, item 1611; the Ministry of the Interior and Administration page on gov.pl about recognition as a Polish citizen (conditions, fee, time limits, appeals). As of 31 October 2026 the text of the bill has not been published, so we do not state periods, income amounts or the exam format. This article does not replace advice from a Polish law attorney.