Fewer Than 40,000 Ukrainians Granted Polish Citizenship in a Decade

Although millions of Ukrainians have relocated to Poland over the past ten years, fewer than 40,000 have been granted Polish citizenship. This figure highlights ongoing structural and bureaucratic challenges faced by long-term residents seeking naturalisation.

Between 2015 and 2023, only 31,900 Ukrainians successfully obtained Polish citizenship. In 2024, Poland’s Ministry of Internal Affairs approved 16,300 citizenship applications. While a nationality breakdown for 2024 is not yet available, experts estimate that nearly half of those approvals were for Ukrainian nationals—bringing the estimated total to approximately 39,000 Ukrainian citizens naturalised in Poland over the last decade.

Poland Among EU’s Lowest in Citizenship Grants

Poland lags behind most EU member states when it comes to citizenship approvals. For instance, in 2021, Spain granted citizenship to 144,000 migrants and Germany to 130,000. In contrast, Poland approved just 10,000 applications that year.

This reflects a naturalisation rate of only 1.7 per cent among long-term residents in Poland—well below the EU average of 2.2 per cent.

Citizenship Criteria Present Ongoing Challenges

Although the process of acquiring Polish citizenship is not considered highly complex, migrants continue to encounter significant hurdles. The standard requirements include:

• A minimum of three years of continuous residence in Poland

• Proficiency in the Polish language (B1 level or higher)

• Proof of stable income

• Passing a language examination, which is offered only four times a year

These limitations contribute to the country’s low naturalisation rate, discouraging many eligible applicants from pursuing citizenship.

Proposed Changes Could Make Citizenship Even Harder

Poland’s main opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), recently proposed stricter rules for granting citizenship to foreigners. Under current law, three years of residence is required to apply. However, PiS argues that this threshold is too lenient and proposes extending the minimum residency requirement to ten years.

If adopted, the new policy could significantly reduce the already low number of naturalisations and make integration for migrants more difficult in the long term.