Poland Discussing Changes to Citizenship Rules

I've written about ancestry by descent before, calling out Poland as one of the most generous countries to claim citizenship. However, with hundreds of thousands of new immigrants pouring into the country, and corresponding support for anti-immigration politics, the country is discussing a major overhaul to its previously lax rules.

Fragomen published a detailed article on this, which I'm pulling some key takeaways from. A major one of interest for me is the "the introduction of a citizenship test as a condition for acquiring citizenship (will not apply to those confirming citizenship by descent)." I'm tracking quite a few (US, France, UK) countries and their evolution on citizenship tests. They are a great barometer for how much a country believes in assimilation of its existing immigration populations.

In Poland the proposed test will be held twice a year, with a question pool of several hundred to several thousand (?!) items, and the exam format will be 30-35 multiple choice questions with 5 open ended questions.

The test will consist of three parts according to Fragomen:

1. General knowledge – history, international relations, law.
2. Current events – five questions about recent developments.
3. Values – open-ended questions assessing the applicant’s integration into Polish society.

The article also mentions that the opposition party is countering with even stricter rules:

• A general extension of the required period of stay for recognition as a Polish citizen.
• A requirement to present a criminal record certificate from the country of origin.
• Raising the required level of Polish language proficiency from B1 to C1.
• Introduction of a State Citizenship Exam, covering topics such as Poland’s political system, civil rights, history, culture and social integration.

Looks like citizenship by descent remains mostly untouched, but naturalization routes are about to become a lot more difficult.