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 staly).

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 - applied for my dowód osobisty.

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.