If you’re seeking to become a Polish citizen by naturalisation, through marriage or by descent, there’s an app out there that makes it a whole lot easier to get Polish citizenship.
The app is called CitizenPL and it’s the brainchild of Australian-Croatian Nik Kraljević, founder of startup Societates Civis. I caught up with Nik right at the time he and his team were putting the finishing touches to the app. Do check out the interview as Nik’s entrepreneurial background and journey to becoming a Croatian citizen make for fascinating reading.
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to review the key features of CitizenPL and explain how the app works. First of all, I will provide a bit of background information about CitizenPL and summarise what the app is all about before I discuss its many benefits for users.
CitizenPL in a nutshell
CitizenPL makes obtaining Polish Citizenship cheaper and easier for its users for free. It’s also the go-to app if you’re just curious about your ancestry.
All you need to do is sign up, answer the eligibility questionnaire and weigh up the options regarding how to proceed with an application for Polish citizenship. The whole process is streamlined and extremely user-friendly.
CitizenPL can connect you with a number of experts in the field of Polish citizenship so you can avoid grappling with any daunting paperwork and bureaucracy.
The app is available on the App Store and Google Play.
Getting Started
The first step on the road to claiming Polish citizenship or, if you’re of Polish descent, reclaiming your Polish heritage, is to select your language and enter your email address. As soon as you have consented to the privacy policy at the bottom of the introduction screen, you’re good to go with the questionnaire.
The Key Features of CitizenPL
As you move seamlessly from the introduction screen to the very well structured questionnaire, it should become apparent that CitizenPL revolves around ease of use through a step-by-step roadmap. This roadmap has been implemented with the ultimate aim of simplifying the process of obtaining Polish citizenship. It really has never been easier to get Polish citizenship.
Beginning with the questionnaire then, here are the key features of CitizenPL:
1. The Questionnaire
First of all, CitizenPL’s questionnaire requires users to fill out some basic information about themselves. This includes name, surname, occupation, highest level of education, why the user is seeking citizenship and so on. The user can submit information about their current location at the end of the questionnaire.
The questions that follow seek to establish the user’s relationship with Poland, namely:
- Did you ever previously hold Polish citizenship?
- Did you ever serve in the army of another country?
- How long have you lived in Poland?
- Do you have a Permit for residence of a long-term EU resident or a permanent residence permit?
The next set of questions concern one’s ancestry – whether one’s parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were born in Poland or carry/carried citizenship. Finally, the question ‘Did any of your grandparents ever serve in another country’s army?’ is a vital one. According to the Polish Citizenship Act of 1920, performing military service in a foreign army in the period up to the Polish Citizenship Act of January 19, 1951, resulted in the loss of Polish citizenship. Nevertheless, the Polish legal system defends those who enlisted in military service in the army of a country which fought against Germany during the Second World War. Moreover, continued service in a foreign army after the war could not have resulted in the loss of Polish citizenship.
After dealing with your ancestry, you have to declare whether you are married to a Polish citizen. Following that, you have to tick which documents you possess. The list of documents ranges from a certified birth certificate to a biography written in Polish.
2. A translation of your biography and CV
Towards the end of the questionnaire, users are asked whether they have official and certified translations of their documents in the Polish language.
Anyone who needs their biography and CV translated can take up CitizenPL’s offer of getting certified translations of these documents within 48 hours. There is a fee for this service.
3. Advice regarding which paths to citizenship are worth exploring
Based on how the user answers the questionnaire, CitizenPL calculates which paths to Polish citizenship are worth pursuing. The options are:
Presidential grant
Lineage
Decent
Naturalisation
Re-admission (reobtaining previously held Polish citizenship)
Marriage
4. Get in touch with recommended experts
Once users have weighed up your options on the option screen, they should click on the pathway/s which are the most viable.
I’ve just randomly filled out the questionnaire and have clicked on the ‘Descent’ pathway. I now see a list of recommended experts, one of which is the President of a genealogy research firm. Moving on, the app informs me that not all of my documents are ready. Therefore, I am recommended to reach out to an expert before contacting my nearest Consulate or Embassy.
As things stand, CitizenPL has a small number of recommended experts to help users obtain Polish citizenship. Another one is a Civil Affairs Office based in Warsaw which offers comprehensive support services to foreigners. When I click on this option, I am able to see a list of the services the company offers, contact options (phone, website and email) and a CONTACT ME button. Clicking on this button automatically sends an inquiry to the expert. They will then reach out to users on the email supplied to complete the questionnaire.
The founders of CitizenPL are working day and night to sign up only the best experts. Indeed, as the founders have been there and done that when it comes to obtaining both Croatian citizenship and Polish citizenship, they empathise with those out there who think they have a chance of becoming EU citizens. All in all, the creators of CitizenPL just want to make it easier to get Polish citizenship.
CitizenPL can certainly be praised for setting the wheels in motion when it comes to getting its users in touch with top-notch experts in the field of Polish citizenship.
5. Make travel arrangements with CitizenPL
In addition to helping people become Polish citizens, CitizenPL also has linked up with a number of travel providers to make travelling to Poland simple. Indeed, you can book flights via a well-known flight aggregator which gives travellers the best rates on airline tickets as well as other travel deals.
CitizenPL has also teamed up with a hotel metasearch engine so you can get excellent deals on hotels. Moreover, the app has an international car rental website among its partners so you can easily rent a car in Poland.
Finally, one of CitizenPL’s main partners is a travel insurance company which works all over the world.
6. Document tracking
Another way that CitizenPL makes it easier to get Polish citizenship is by having a Document Tracking feature. Essentially, you can keep track of the documents required for Polish citizenship and mark them off once you have obtained them
7. Timely reminders
CitizenPL has a canny “Send a reminder” feature which puts the ball in the app’s court when it comes to following up with a consulate or embassy on the user’s behalf.
CitizenPL – Simplicity in Motion
It’s early days but it’s plain to see that CitizenPL has the makings of becoming a viable rival to all Polish citizenship law firms out there.
The step-by-step roadmap helps users to cut out hours and hours of unnecessary browsing on the Internet and filling in forms. Moreover, the app’s recommended experts appear to be the real deal in terms of professionalism and experience. Users of the app can take comfort in the fact that there are professionals at hand whenever a roadblock occurs in the application process.