What is repatriation to Poland?
Repatriation is a method of obtaining Polish citizenship for persons of Polish origin (and members of their families) who wish to settle in the Republic of Poland for the purpose of permanent residence, as well as meeting a number of other conditions.
All provisions on repatriation are consolidated into one legal act - the Law on Repatriation of 09.11.2000, which came into force on 01.01.2001 . The last date must be remembered - it will be important for studying the conditions of repatriation.
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Proving the right to repatriation is not easy. To do this, you need to meet an impressive list of conditions and perform a number of complex actions. You need to have housing in Poland, you can also count on temporary accommodation in a special government center, but the law sets the possible waiting time for a place in such a center at three years, with the possibility of increasing this period by another two. And the period of stay in the center is only 90 days. Maximum – 180.
All this, as we will see later, is just the tip of the iceberg of difficulties. It’s not for nothing that only about 1,000 people a year can use the program. So is there any point in going through such difficulties? What are the advantages of this status?
What is the benefit of repatriation?
The main advantage is indicated in Article 4 of the Repatriation Law:
Art.4 Ustawa o repatriacji:
A person arriving in the Republic of Poland on the basis of a national visa for the purpose of repatriation acquires Polish citizenship by operation of law on the day of crossing the border of the Republic of Poland.
Can you imagine? There are no many years of waiting, no subjective decisions of the president and so on - a person simply enters Poland on the basis of a special visa, and for this reason he receives Polish citizenship.
The advantages don't end there. A repatriate, having grounds and having agreed upon this with officials at various levels, after entering the Republic of Poland can count (based on the provisions of the articles of Chapter 4 of the Law):
- Payment of the cost of travel to the place of residence and transportation of property for oneself and each family member in the amount of twice the cost of these transportations by second class rail transport.
- Covering current expenses for the repatriate and each member of his family in the amount of two average salaries in the national economy.
- Compensation for the costs of compulsory education for children in the amount of the average national wage for each child.
These payments can be agreed upon at the stage of applying for a visa, i.e. before entering Poland and obtaining citizenship, because The consul can decide on these compensations.
However, that's not all. After entering and obtaining citizenship, you can count on:
- In the amount of up to PLN 6,000 to compensate for the costs of major repairs and/or adaptation of residential premises (the decision is made by the mayor -
