I am not a licensed attorney in Poland, but I am now a citizen of Poland, in addition to being a natural born US citizen. There is little information online about what you must do and what it means, when you suddenly cease to be a permanent resident alien and are instantly transformed into a citizen of Poland. This is not licensed legal advice, but is my own experience. My route to Polish citizenship was having a Polish citizen wife and living in Poland for at least 5 years, 3 years with a temporary residence permit (pobyt czasowy), then 2 years with a permanent residence permit (pobyt stały).
How do you find out you have become a citizen? I was tipped off when I called the urząd wojewodski, on October 4, 2024, to ask if I could travel to the US briefly while my application was pending, being concerned they might request something while I was gone. The gentleman on the phone asked for my name, looked it up, and told me there was a decision in my case.
“What is the decision?”
“Can’t tell you, you’ll get it in the mail.”
“Is it a final decision?”
“Yes.”
The next day, Saturday October 5, I received an SMS from mObywatel that my dowód osobisty would expire December 4, 2024 and to apply for a new one. I didn’t have a dowód osobisty, only a pobyt stały good until 2032. After briefly wondering if changing my SIM card in my phone caused this SMS, I went online to the mObywatel page and found my profile. After searching through the various tabs, I looked at Moje dane, and there it was, in small letters: Obywatelstwo: polskie. And another tab showed I had full voting rights, and where to vote in Poznań. I then did at least one thing right - started the application for my dowód osobisty, online, that very Saturday.
So what about a formal swearing-in ceremony for new citizens? Well, there isn’t one - the closest thing is getting your decision (declaration of Polish citizenship) from your post office. This item is in the form of a court decision served on you, as a party, by registered mail. It is full of code citations, but does not give you the basis for the decision, since you are getting the relief requested. However, it does notify you of your rights to appeal the granting of citizenship, if you object to same.