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Citizenship

Source: domena publiczna.

Link to the lesson

Before you start you should know
  • Citizenship is the status of a person recognized under the law as being a legal member of a sovereign state.

  • Each country has its own policies, regulations and criteria as to who is entitled to ist citizenship.

You will learn
  • You will understand the primary and secondary ways of granting citizenshipto grant (citizenship)granting citizenship in Poland and other states.

  • You will know how a foreignerforeignerforeigner can apply for Polish citizenship and what the conditions are.

  • You will understand what the Polish Card is, who may receive it, and what rights it grants.

  • You will understand how citizenship may be lost.

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nagranie abstraktu

What is citizenship?

The history of mankindmankindmankind is the history of societies and nations. Societies, especially in today's world, may be multinational. Societies and nations in specific historical conditions were created by states that had, among others, providedto provide withprovided them with a sense of security and defined behavioral norms written in the law. This way, a special bond was formed between states and members of societies. We call this bond citizenship.

In today's world citizenship is a legal bond connecting an individualindividualindividual to a state, on the basis of which the individual has specific rights and obligations to the state, and the state has duties and rights to the individual. The determination of matters related to citizenship, and in particular the methods of its acquisitionacquisitionacquisition and possibly also the losslossloss, belongs to the state itself.

Ways of acquiring citizenshipto acquire/obtain (citizenship)acquiring citizenship are regulated by the national law of individual countries. However, states have rather limited possibilities of legal interpretation related to citizenship. Therefore, the legal methods of acquiring citizenship may be divided into primary and secondary.

Primary ways of acquiring citizenship

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Citizenship by birth, right of blood, ius sanguinis. At least one of the parents should be a citizen of a given country, then he can decide about citizenship granted to his child. If both parents are citizens of the same country, the child acquires citizenship automatically after parents and no additional declarations are needed. Right of the soil, birthright citizenship, ius soli. A child born within the territory of the state is granted citizenship of this state, regardless of the citizenship of its parents. The territory of the state is understood broadly as both the proper territory, limited by international agreements, but also the aircrafts and ships, as well as the diplomatic missions of the country.

Secondary ways of acquiring citizenship

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Naturalisation. A foreigner may be granted citizenship of a country in which he or she has settled. The case concerns immigrants arriving for economic reasons as well as refugees fleeing their country for fear of persecution, and their spouses. Naturalization is voluntary and the process is initiated at the request of a person interested in obtaining citizenship. Some of the conditions are to have lived in the territory of a given country for 5, 7 or 10 years and knowledge of the language of the country for the citizenship of which the foreigner is applying. The past of the applicant, his good opinion, and regular income are also taken into account. Often, examinations are also prepared, which check the level of awareness of the candidate and his interest in the country for which he / she is seeking citizenship. You can also acquire citizenship of a country as a result of marrying its citizen. Then the procedures for granting citizenship are shortened. Reintegration. Reinstitution of citizenship that has been lost due to various reasons, e.g. renunciation of citizenship, unlawful denaturalization or loss of citizenship by a child under 16 on the basis of his parents’ decision. Repatriation. This way of acquiring citizenship involves returning to the home country of people who for various reasons found themselves outside of the country (war, change of borders) and lost citizenship of their country of origin.

In Poland the right of blood is applied. A child acquires – by law – Polish citizenship by birth from parents, at leastat leastat least one of whom has Polish citizenship, regardlessregardlessregardless of the place of the child's birth. According to the Polish law, the right of the soil may also be applied. This happens when a child is born or found in the territory of the Republic of Poland and both parents are unknown, their citizenship is undefined or they have no citizenship. Then the child acquires Polish citizenship under the law. The Polish law also permitsto permitpermits the acquisition of citizenship by adoption. A child adopted by a person or persons possessing Polish citizenship acquires Polish citizenship if the full adoption took place before the child was 16 years old.

The President of the Republic of Poland may grant Polish citizenship to a foreigner, at the foreigner’s requestat the requestrequest. Foreigners residing in Poland may apply for Polish citizenship through a voivode competentcompetentcompetent for the place of their residence, and if they reside abroad – through an appropriateappropriateappropriate consul. In the case of foreigners who apply for Polish citizenship and have previously lived in the territory of the Polish state, it is possible to shorten the procedures and recognize them as Polish citizens. To apply for Polish citizenship by recognition, foreigners have to:

  • reside in Poland on the basis of specific permits, and within a long term (at least 3 years) legal stay in Poland have integrated with the Polish society,

  • be able to speak Polish,

  • have a place to live and a source of income,

  • respect the Polish law,

  • be of no danger to the state’s defense or security.

This right applies especially to refugees, people with no citizenship, children and spousesspousespouses of Polish citizens, as well as people of Polish originoriginorigin. Recognition of citizenship does not require a decision of the President of the Republic of Poland, but may take place in the course of administrative proceedings, in which the first instance is the appropriate voivode.

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Ilustracja interaktywna.Podpis: Polish Card – for whom and for what? Fotografia barwna przedstawiająca rewers i awers Karty Polaka. W lewym górnym rogu znajduje się godło. Tło stanowi jasny wzór z liter "RP". Poniżej umieszczonego po środku na górze napisu Karta Polaka znajduje się następujący tekst: Karta Polaka jest dokumentem potwierdzającym przynależność do narodu polskiego. Z drugiej strony karty znajduje się inny napis: Przyznanie karty Polaka nie oznacza nabycia polskiego obywatelstwa. Karta Polaka nie jest dokumentem uprawniającym do przekraczania granicy ani do osiedlania się na terytorium Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej. Na fotografii Karty Polaka umieszczono na następujące napisy: 1. The Polish Card can be granted to persons of Polish origin who, for historical and political reasons, lost their Polish citizenship or never had it, and are today citizens of states formed as a result of the collapse of the USSR or are stateless in the territory of the former USSR. 2. According to the Act of 7 September 2007, the Polish Card may be granted to a person who declares to belong to the Polish nation and jointly fulfills the following conditions: demonstrates a basic knowledge of the Polish language and cultivates Polish traditions and customs, submits (in a Polish Consulate, for example) a written declaration of belonging to the Polish nation; proves his Polish nationality (e.g. by presenting birth certificates of one of his parents or grandparents or both great-grandparents) or had Polish citizenship. Membership of the Polish nation can also be attested by a Polish or Polonia community organization operating in a given area. 3. Receiving the Polish Card does not mean Polish citizenship is granted, nor the rights to settle in the territory of the Republic of Poland or cross the border of the Republic of Poland without a visa. 4. A person who has a Polish Card can: receive a long-stay visa entitling to multiple crossings of the Polish border without payment, legally take a job in the Republic of Poland without the need to have a work permit, conduct business in Poland on the same terms as Polish citizens, use the free education system in Poland.
Polish Card – for whom and for what?
Source: licencja: CC 0.
Exercise 1

Listen to the excerpt from the Act on repatriation and answer the following questions.

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Ćwiczenie alternatywne: Answer questions: 1. Citizens of what countries may apply for a national visa for repatriation? 2. What are the problems that the repatriates from the East may come across an everyday life in Poland? 3. What kind of help do repatriates need from the host society, in other words – the Poles? 4. What are the reasons a Polish diaspora in the East was created?

Citizenship loss

The terms of citizenship loss are determined by each state under its internal law. Most often (also in Poland) however, the principle is applied that citizenship may be waivedto waivewaived only by the citizen himself, although in this case the state authorities ensureto ensureensure that the renunciation of citizenship does not lead to statelessness.

According to the UN Convention of 1954, the creation stateless persons, i.e. persons with no citizenship, should be avoided. Being a stateless person is disadvantageousdisadvantageousdisadvantageous to an individual because of the lack of protection from a state and its consular services or the lack of civil rights of children of such a person, especially if the right of blood is in force in a given country. When parents are known but have no citizenship, children cannot get their citizenship.

The conditions of waiving citizenship are, for example:

  • acquisition of citizenship of another country - this may result in the loss of citizenship already held. In democratic countries, dual citizenship is traditionally recognized, even if such a possibility has not been entered into the law,

  • joining the military service of another country - there are countries that have mercenary troops. Often, former soldiers from other countries are recruited to them (an example may be the French Foreign Legion). If, however, the interests of a state having such an army are contrary to the interests of the state of which the person is a citizen, he may lose his citizenship,

  • marriage with a citizen of another country – rarely the spouse's country recognizes only one nationality. Even then, however, the regulations of the international law are important.

A legal bond, connecting an individual with his state, called citizenship, arisesto arisearises in many ways. The existence of this relationship results in mutual rights and obligations. Nowadays, the legal systems of states allow or tolerate the possession of more than one citizenship. Poland belongs to a group of countries in which citizenship is acquired by birth from parents who are Polish citizens (the right of blood). At the same time art. 34 par. 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland states that a Polish citizen cannot lose his Polish citizenship unless he renouncesto renouncerenounces it himself. After Poland's accession to the European Union, Polish citizens automatically acquired citizenship of the European Union.

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Exercise 2
Ćwiczenie alternatywne: Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise. Explain the meaning of following words: to renounce; persecution; to grant (citizenship); to conduct business; to acquire/obtain (citizenship); foreigner; cultivate (traditions, customs); work permit. If it's too difficult, use lesson's glossary.

Keywords

citizenship, naturalization, repatriation, visa, primary/secondary ways of acquiring citizenship, citizenship by birth, right of blood, ius sanguinis, right of the soil, birthright citizenship, ius soli, foreigner, recognition of citizenship, the Polish Card, a stateless person

Glossary

acquisition
acquisition
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Nagranie słówka: acquisition

otrzymanie, uzyskanie

appropriate
appropriate
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Nagranie słówka: appropriate

odpowiedni

at least
at least
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Nagranie słówka: at least

przynajmniej

at the request
at the request
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Nagranie słówka: at the request

na prośbę/wniosek

collapse
collapse
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Nagranie słówka: collapse

upadek, rozpad

competent
competent
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Nagranie słówka: competent

kompetentny, właściwy

cultivate (traditions, customs)
cultivate (traditions, customs)
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Nagranie słówka: cultivate (traditions, customs)

przestrzegać (tradycji, obyczajów)

disadvantageous
disadvantageous
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Nagranie słówka: disadvantageous

niekorzystna

foreigner
foreigner
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Nagranie słówka: foreigner

cudzoziemiec

individual
individual
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Nagranie słówka: individual

jednostka

jointly
jointly
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Nagranie słówka: jointly

łącznie

loss
loss
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Nagranie słówka: loss

utrata

mankind
mankind
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Nagranie słówka: mankind

ludzkość

origin
origin
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Nagranie słówka: origin

pochodzenie

permanently
permanently
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Nagranie słówka: permanently

na stałe

persecution
persecution
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Nagranie słówka: persecution

prześladowanie

regardless
regardless
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Nagranie słówka: regardless

bez względu

spouse
spouse
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Nagranie słówka: spouse

małżonek (małżonka)

to acquire/obtain (citizenship)
to acquire/obtain (citizenship)
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Nagranie słówka: to acquire/obtain (citizenship)

uzyskać (obywatelstwo)

to arise
to arise
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Nagranie słówka: to arise

powstawać

to attest
to attest
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Nagranie słówka: to attest

potwierdzić

to concern
to concern
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Nagranie słówka: to concern

dotyczyć

to conduct business
to conduct business
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Nagranie słówka: to conduct business

prowadzić działalność gospodarczą

to ensure
to ensure
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Nagranie słówka: to ensure

upewniać się, zapewniać

to grant (citizenship)
to grant (citizenship)
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Nagranie słówka: to grant (citizenship)

przyznać (obywatelstwo)

to initiate
to initiate
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Nagranie słówka: to initiate

rozpoczynać

to involve
to involve
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Nagranie słówka: to involve

zakładać, obejmować, angażować

to issue (a visa)
to issue (a visa)
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Nagranie słówka: to issue (a visa)

wydać (wizę)

to permit
to permit
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Nagranie słówka: to permit

zezwalać

to prove
to prove
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Nagranie słówka: to prove

udowodnić, dowieść

to provide with
to provide with
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Nagranie słówka: to provide with

dostarczać, zapewniać

to renounce
to renounce
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Nagranie słówka: to renounce

zrzec się

to settle
to settle
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Nagranie słówka: to settle

osiedlić się

to waive
to waive
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Nagranie słówka: to waive

uchylić

voluntary
voluntary
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Nagranie słówka: voluntary

dobrowolna

work permit
work permit
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Nagranie słówka: work permit

pozwolenie na pracę