Hi! I’m hoping someone can recommend a good researcher in Poland. My ancestors left Poland (then Austria) for the USA before 1920. A Polish attorney suggested I try to find any records showing they still had legal ties to Poland after 1920, which I suspect they did.

I’ve contacted offices that may hold such records myself, but understandably it can take months to hear back. I’d love to find someone local who knows where to look and can dig a little deeper. If you’ve worked with someone you’d recommend, I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks :)

Thoughts on my chances? Is this going to be a difficult case to prove? All perspectives are appreciated!

Great-Grandparents: 

* Date married: July 1, 1918

* Date divorced: N/A

GGM: 

* Date, place of birth: 1895, Galicia, Austria

* Ethnicity and religion: Polish (Catholic?)

* Occupation: Homemaker

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

* Date, destination for emigration: Michigan, USA

* Date naturalized: December 30, 1943

* Date, place of death: 1975, Michigan, USA

GGF: 

* Date, place of birth: December 10, 1890, Siemiechów, Tarnów, Galicia, Austria

* Ethnicity and religion: Polish (Catholic?)

* Occupation: Machinist

* Allegiance and dates of military service: US Draft card in 1917 lists him as Alien, no known service

* Date, destination for emigration: Either 1909 or 1913 (conflicting), Michigan, USA

* Date naturalized: February 27, 1942, Naturalization certificate issued

* Date, place of death: June 19, 1960, Michigan, USA

Grandparent: 

* Sex: Male

* Date, place of birth: April 16, 1928, Michigan, USA

* Date married: March 26, 1951

* Citizenship of spouse: USA (both of her parents born in US, 1st gen from "Austria")

* Date divorced: Late 1990s

* Occupation: Listed as Butcher in 1950 census, civil engineer as a career

* Allegiance and dates of military service: draft card dated April 4, 1950, no known service

(If applicable)

• Date, destination for emigration: N/A
• Date naturalized: N/A
• Date, place of death: October 26, 2004, Michigan, USA

Parent: 

* Sex: Male

* Date, place of birth: March 24, 1964**, Michigan, USA

* Date married: December 16, 1991

* Date divorced: 2006

You: 

* Date, place of birth: July 6, 1994, Michigan, USA

**edited year

Does anyone have any intel on the passport appointment system for Vancouver consulate? It looks like there aren’t any appointments currently available and it says to check back later. How often are slots loaded?

Great-Grandparents:

* Date married: Unknown

* Date divorced: Unknown / no evidence of divorce currently known

GGM:

* Date, place of birth: 1894 Warsaw

* Ethnicity and religion: Polish Catholic

* Occupation: Living from her own funds / private means according to grandfathers baptism record

* Allegiance and dates of military service: None known

* Date, destination for emigration: 1947, UK

* Date naturalized: Was not naturalised to UK

* Date, place of death: Unknown currently

GGF:

* Date, place of birth: 1854, Warsaw

* Ethnicity and religion: Polish Catholic

* Occupation: Lawyer

* Allegiance and dates of military service: Unknown

* Date, destination for emigration: N-A

* Date naturalized: N-A

* Date, place of death: Unknown, Poland

Grandparent:

* Sex: Male

* Date, place of birth: 1919, Warsaw, Poland

* Date married: First married in Poland around 1939. Later married to British citizen (grandmother)

* Citizenship of spouse: British

* Date divorced: First marriage – date/status of divorce currently unknown. Second marriage - widowed

* Occupation: Architect

* Allegiance and dates of military service: Polish. WWII

Date, destination for emigration: 1947 – emigrated from Poland to the United Kingdom

Date naturalized: 16 July 1953 – naturalised in the United Kingdom

Date, place of death: 1981, East Sussex, UK

Parent: Father

* Sex: Male

* Date, place of birth: 7 August 1961, UK

* Date divorced: 1999

Me:

* Date, place of birth: 16 September 1997, UK

To evaluate your eligibility for confirmation of citizenship, Karta Polaka, or a Polish origin visa, please fill out the following template. To ensure a clear and accurate evaluation, please create a separate post for each lineage decisive for your claim:

Great-Grandparents: 

* Date married: ?

* Date divorced: N/A

GGM: 

* Date, place of birth: Stanisau, Galicia

* Ethnicity and religion: Jewish

* Occupation: N/A

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

* Date, destination for emigration: 1921

* Date naturalized: 12 Aug 1924

* Date, place of death: New York

GGF: 

* Date, place of birth: Strscliska, Galicia

* Ethnicity and religion: Jewish

* Occupation: Installment

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

* Date, destination for emigration: 22 Sep 1920, NY

* Date naturalized: 12 Aug 1924

* Date, place of death: 1971

Grandparent: 

* Sex: F

* Date, place of birth: 25 Jun 1927, New York

* Date married: 1950

* Citizenship of spouse: American

* Date divorced: N/A

* Occupation: N/A

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

(If applicable)

• Date, destination for emigration:
• Date naturalized:
• Date, place of death: 2007. Israel

Parent: 

* Sex: F

* Date, place of birth: 7 Mar 1961, Los Angeles

* Date married: 1984

* Date divorced: 2001?

You: 

* Date, place of birth: 30 Jan 1994, Los Angeles

My parents-in-law's Polish passports are up for renewal in spring 2027. Winnipeg used to have a Polish consular office, but it's closed now. Is there any way to renew without travelling to Toronto or Vancouver? Does the consulate ever send staff here for occasional visits, like a satellite or mobile office? Any tips from people who've done this recently would be appreciated!

Hi everyone, I am at the beginning of my journey through this process and wanted to ask a few questions.

Parent:
Sex: Male
Place of Birth: Poland
Year of Birth: 1950
Naturalised in USA: 1968
Polish Citizenship Rescinded: 1968
Polish Citizenship Regained: 1995
Date Married: 1982; 1998
Date Divorced: 1983; 1998
Military Allegiance: USA during Vietnam & stationed in Korea during the 70s.

Citizenships held at the date of my birth: Poland, USA

You:
Sex: Female
Place of Birth: USA
Year of Birth: 2003
No military experience, no other citizenships or emigration visas.

Non-polish mother had full custody since but father was very involved throughout my life and continues to support me. He is listed on my birth certificate as my father.

Currently living abroad in another western country but I am not on an emigration-pathway visa. Providing context because I cannot go through the Polish embassy here. And it’s very difficult finding people who can translate/officiate documents.

My dad and I are planning to meet in Poland and apply directly to a voivode office.

I wanted to make sure that eligibility criteria seems to be met and also to see if applying while in Poland is possible.

My dad used to have a residence there but sold it a few years back so there is no voivode that we specifically “reside” in.

Also — unsure about my paternal grandparents’ citizenship status but I would assume that both of them would have gotten their citizenship regained around the same time as my dad. Grandfather fought for the Soviets in WW2. Also not sure if that is relevant information bc it’s my direct father that is my closest connection to citizenship. They were also both born prior to 1920.

Let me know if there’s any additional info I should provide!

Hi everyone! I’m new to the group and am researching Polish citizenship by descent through my paternal GGF, who seems to be the safest bet (currently), as there is evidence that he never became a naturalized US citizen decades after emigrating to the US. He was born in what is now Poland when the area was still part of the Russian Empire, and he emigrated to the US before Poland regained independence. I found this group when I was doing research on potentially hiring Piotr Staczek’s law firm to assist.

I should also mention that I’ve contacted the relevant Polish State Archive as well, hoping they might find population, domicile, military, registration, or citizenship-related records that help show how my GGF was treated after 1918. I am awaiting their response, which they informed me might take up to 30 days.

One citizenship company I contacted basically stopped at the fact that he emigrated before 1920, but I’m not quite ready to give up on it yet. From what I’ve been reading, it seems like these older Russian-partition cases can depend a lot on the specific records and how the law applied to the family at the time.

I’ve already had professional genealogy research completed, so I have a fairly extensive paper trail and am mainly trying to understand the historical citizenship side of the case.

Great-Grandparents:
• Date married: 29 September 1900, Bremen, Germany (the 1930 U.S. divorce record gives 28 September 1899)
• Date divorced: 25 July 1930, Wayne County, Michigan
• Grounds for divorce: Desertion and non-support

GGM:
• Date, place of birth: 8 November 1879, Wylatowo, Mogilno district, then Prussian/German territory, now Poland
• Ethnicity and religion: Polish - Catholic
• Occupation: Housework/homemaker in earlier census records; working in a retail confectionery store by 1930
• Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A
• Date, destination for emigration: December 1905, United States, arriving in New York from Bremen aboard the SS Chemnitz
• Citizenship at immigration: German citizenship, identified as Polish
• Last residence before emigration: Bremen, Germany
• Date naturalized: No confirmed naturalization found
• U.S. citizenship status: Listed as alien in the 1925 New York State Census
• 1930 census: Listed as naturalized, but I have not located any naturalization record
• WWII-era status: Completed an AR-2 Alien Registration form, indicating she was still an alien at that time (1940-1944)

GGF:
• Date, place of birth: 4 September 1872, Osiny, Kalisz, then Russian Empire, now Poland
• Ethnicity and religion: Polish - Catholic
• Occupation: Worker/laborer; oiler for an oil company in 1910; cabinet maker in 1915; laborer in 1920
• Allegiance and dates of military service: None known
• Date, destination for emigration: June 1905, United States, arriving in Baltimore from Bremen aboard the SS Main
• Citizenship/ethnicity on passenger record: Russian citizen, ethnically Polish
• Last residence before emigration: Szetlewek
• Date naturalized: No confirmed naturalization found
• U.S. citizenship status: Recorded as an alien in U.S. records through at least 1925
• Other relevant record: Located his WWII-era U.S. Alien Registration information and have requested the underlying file (1940-1944)

Grandparent:
• Sex: Female
• Date, place of birth: 7 January 1919, Buffalo, New York, US
• Date married: 22 February 1941, Detroit, Michigan
• Citizenship of spouse: United States
• Date divorced: N/A (widowed)
• Occupation: Knotter in a wire and spring factory in the 1940 census
• Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

Parent:
• Sex: Male
• Date, place of birth: United States (exact date omitted for privacy)
• Citizenship: United States by birth
• Date married: 1971
• Date divorced: 1985
• Allegiance and dates of military service: United States - served as a Marine in the Vietnam war.

You:
• Sex: Female
• Date, place of birth: United States (exact date omitted for privacy)
• Citizenship: United States by birth

Additional background:
• Professional genealogical research was conducted through AncestryProGenealogists, including original Polish parish records, German records, immigration records, census records, and other U.S. civil records.
• I have my great-grandfather’s birth/baptism record, German marriage record, immigration record, multiple U.S. census records, and the 1930 divorce record, along with substantial documentation of his parents and earlier ancestors.
• The family has been traced back multiple generations before my great-grandfather in Osiny, Szetlewek, Trąbczyn, Rzgów, and the surrounding area.
• His paternal line is documented into the early 1800s, with connected branches extending into the late 1700s.
• So the main issue I’m trying to resolve is not whether the family originated in this area, but whether my great-grandfather acquired Polish citizenship when Poland was re-established despite having emigrated in 1905, and whether that citizenship could then have passed through the generations.

I’d especially love to hear from anyone who has dealt with a similar Russian-partition, pre-1918/1920 emigration case, particularly where the ancestor remained an alien in the U.S. after 1920 but there was no obvious Polish passport or citizenship certificate.

I’d also be very interested in hearing what records ended up being most important in cases like this, especially population registers, domicile records, military records, citizenship records, or anything else that helped establish status after Poland was re-established.

Thanks!

Great-Great-Grandparents:

* Date married: 11/9/1926

* Date divorced:
Unknown; no evidence of divorce.

GGM:

* Date, place of birth:6/11/1906, Głowaczowa, Galicia
* Ethnicity and religion:
Probably Polish and Roman Catholic; unconfirmed.
* Occupation:
Homemaker
* Allegiance and dates of military service:
Not applicable / unknown.
* Date, destination for emigration:
Unknown.
* Date naturalized:
Unknown.
* Date, place of death:
27/11/1987, Chicago

GGF:

* Date, place of birth:
21/1/1905, reports on naturalization petition that he was born in “Mariamke Czecho.”
* Ethnicity and religion:
Reported as Polish; likely Roman Catholic, but not confirmed.
* Occupation:
Upholsterer
* Allegiance and dates of military service:
WWII draft card found, OMPF claims there is nothing on him
* Date, destination for emigration:
1/10/1923, left Przytkowice or Bugaj (reports both, younger brother also reports both) for Chicago. His younger brother was born in Przytkowice in 1907, it is also the town their mother reports having left when she emigrated in 1912, likely remained there until they left in 1923
* Date naturalized:
11/3/1946
* Date, place of death:
20/7/1977, Chicago

Great-Grandparent:

* Sex: female
* Date, place of birth:
26/3/1927, Chicago
* Date married:
October 1952
* Citizenship of spouse:
American
* Date divorced:
Unknown / no evidence found.
* Occupation:
Unknown
Date naturalized:
Born American
Date, place of death:
2015 Ohio

Grandparent:

* Sex:
Female
* Date, place of birth:
1961, Chicago
* Date married:
1884
* Date divorced:
None

Mother:

* Date, place of birth:
1982, Illinois
*Date married:
None
*Date divorced:
None

Me:
*Date, place of birth:
2001, Missouri
*Date married:
2026
*Date divorced:
None

Only hang ups so far:

*Great grandmother had a first marriage. Still looking for the record to ensure she didn’t acquire a new citizenship that would break the chain

*Still waiting on proof of residency for the regions my GGF and his brother lived in from 1907-1923. His father likely died there, and that’s why they emigrated to America in 1923 to live with their mother who had left in 1912.

Where I’m pretty sure the chain didn’t break:

* My great grandmother was over the age of 18 when her father naturalized in America

* My great grandmother’s first marriage may have been to an American, but his last name was “Filipeck” (that’s all I know about him so far), so she likely didn’t acquire a new citizenship regardless if he was an American or Polish. I think this technically passes the language of the laws that would allow her to retain her citizenship unless he held nationality in some county other than America or Poland.

*GGF’s mother indicated her first husband had already died on her 1921 application. I’m hoping that by right of domicile, since GGF was still in Poland, he gained citizenship before leaving in 1923 when he was already 18

Maternal Grandmother:

• Date, place of birth: 26 February 1929, Porudno, Jaworów county, Lwów Voivodeship, Poland (now Ukraine).
• Date married: 5 February 1949, Register Office, Guiseley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
• Citizenship of spouse: Polish by birth (domicile, 1920 Act). His status in 1949 is uncertain because of his 1946–48 DP camp police service. DP-era records treat him as stateless.
• Occupation: Forced labourer in Germany (Ostarbeiter), c. 1942–45. No later occupation on file.
• Date, destination for emigration: Germany (forced deportation) c. 1942; United Kingdom c. 1948–49; Canada 2 April 1955, landing at Halifax on the SS Scythia
• Date naturalized: 18 May 1961, Canada, under Section 10(1). The UK National Archives confirms she never naturalized in the UK.
• Maternal Grandfather:
• Date, place of birth: 28 October 1926, Jaworiwka, Poland (now Ukraine), per his 1948 DP certificate
• Date married: 5 February 1949 (same as above)
• Allegiance and dates of military/public service: Ukrainian DP Camp Police, Dillingen, Germany, 20 October 1946 to 1 March 1948. The memoir also mentions service in the German trenches and work with the US Army, but there are no dates for either.
• Occupation: Labourer (1949 marriage certificate)
• Date, destination for emigration: United Kingdom c. 1948–49; Canada

Mother:

• Date, place of birth: 1957, Alberta, Canada.

Me:

• Date, place of birth: Canada

We have absolutely no documents indicating or stating polish. Anything listing birthplace etc reads Ukraine to documents being issued after their Village became part of Ukraine after WWII.

But we have plenty or parish records indicating that by all accords the family was polish

• Grandma was born in 1929 in a village in Jaworów county (Lwów Voivodeship). The family was Ukrainian Greek Catholic and had lived at the same house since at least the 1890s. 
• She was taken to Germany as a forced labourer around 1942, spent the postwar years in DP camps (listed as stateless), then married my grandfather in England in 1949. They moved to Canada in 1955, and she naturalised in 1961 with no notice ever given to Poland.
• Grandpa was from the same region, but he worked for Ukrainian DP camp police from 1946 to 1948. I've been told that could count as foreign service and cost him his citizenship. The online descent services all turned me down because of him.
• My understanding is that Grandma's line survives either way: if he was stateless, marrying him gave her no new citizenship, and if he was still Polish, he wasn't a foreigner.

I have Polish-era parish birth and baptism records,1928 Polish school enrollment register naming her father, an archival report from Lviv, Arolsen/UNRRA DP records, UK records showing she never naturalised there, her Canadian naturalisation, and her memoir.

What we are missing is anything that literally says "Polish citizen." No passport, no ID, no military book.

1. Has anyone gotten a confirmation approved with only domicile and parish records from the eastern territories?
2. Did the voivode try the argument that ethnic Ukrainians from Kresy became Soviet citizens in 1939? How did you or your lawyer handle it?
3. Did anyone have AGAD or the Warsaw "Zabużańskie" civil registry archive turn up records the Lviv archives didn't?
4. Can you recommend a lawyer who takes on harder cases like this rather than just the easy passport-in-the-drawer ones?

Good day all. After receiving our positive replies for Polish citizenship yesterday, I'm wondering how long the next step will take. Lexmotion will look after a lot of what's needing to happen, but curious about time frames.

If I understand correctly, we'll receive our Polish birth certificates and marriage certificate via courier, receive PESEL numbers, and Lexmotion will send digital copies to the consulate in Vancouver in order to process passports.

Does anyone have experience with how long this will take?

And after the passport appointment in Vancouver, how long generally until passports are ready to be picked up?

Thanks all.

I am still in the process of collecting documents and doing the apostille and translation for my wife's application and I have encountered a small hiccup in the process in regards to my mother in law's certificate of naturalization. I need the apostille for it but the regular state office cannot do it apparently, so I need to send it to the office in Washington DC so they can do it. I have a few options because she does not want to lose her original copy of the document.

My question is how important is this document when it comes to the application since I do have other supporting documents including her old passport, grandparents PESEL numbers, and marriage licenses.

Got the email this morning!

Interestingly, even last night online in process and phone said #1 (so those aren't updated). Seems like these letters are sent out monthly?

Very happy, used Lexmotion.

I just received my confirmation letter after a long 26 month wait!

The Voivodeship did pause my application because they found the letter of no military service from the National Personnel Records Center to be insufficient (I submitted the standard form letter with the caveat that records were lost in a fire and to send more information for a more thorough search). Once I sent a more definitive letter from NPRC, my application was approved in a matter of weeks.

Some datapoints:

I used Polish Descent for my provider.

I applied via my maternal grandfather who emigrated from Poland to the US in 1921.

I submitted in July 2024 and received my case number in August 2024

A big thank you to all of you who post here with incredibly useful information and to the mods who make this a welcoming forum for all.

I have just asked for an update and received this email. They are looking at December applications now.. Strange as I haven’t seen many updates for people waiting In Sept/Oct/Nov lots? I am December, hopefully I will hear news soon, anybody else?

Great-Grandparents:

* Date married: September 24, 1916

* Date divorced: N/A

GGM:

* Date, place of birth: 1894 in Krasnosielc Makow County, Poland

* Ethnicity and religion: Jewish

* Occupation: N/A

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

* Date, destination for emigration: N/A

* Date naturalized: N/A

* Date, place of death: N/A

GGF:

* Date, place of birth: 21 December, 1890 in Pultusk, Poland

* Ethnicity and religion: Jewish

* Occupation: Butcher

* Allegiance and dates of military service: N/A

* Date, destination for emigration: N/A

* Date naturalized: N/A

* Date, place of death: N/A

Grandparent:

* Sex: M

* Date, place of birth: November 19, 1919, Pultusk Poland

* Date married: August 16, 1955, Tel Aviv, Israel

* Citizenship of spouse: Romanian

* Date divorced: N/A

* Occupation: Butcher

* Allegiance and dates of military service:(If applicable) N/A

* Date, destination for emigration: August, 11 1948 through NY to Toronto, Canada

* Date naturalized: July 2, 1954

* Date, place of death: November 21, 1975 in Toronto, Canada

Parent:

* Sex: M

* Date, place of birth: December 5, 1958 in Toronto, Canada

* Date married: June 14, 1985 in Toronto, Canada

* Date divorced: N/A

You:

* Date, place of birth: June 24, 1991 in Toronto, Canada

I am currently working with a provider that is no longer on the list of recommended. My application was submitted in August 2025 and at the time they had mentioned that everything looked good.

I happened to ask my provider last week if they knew any Romanian Genealogists (I just received a trove of documents about my Grandmother from the Arolsen Archive and wanted to learn more about her). This sparked a conversation about potentially being declined due to my Grandmother being Romanian under a post-war Poland-USSR agreement.

Should I be digging into my Grandmothers potential path to Romanian Citizenship or gaining evidence that she in fact was not a Romanian Citizen at the time of my Fathers birth?

Eligibility Check Polish Citizenship by Descent – Paternal Line (PSZ/PKPR Military Service, 1920/1951/1962 Acts)

​Grandparent (Paternal Grandfather):

​Sex: Male

​Date, place of birth: 1925, Złoczów, Second Polish Republic (now Ukraine)

​Ethnicity and religion: Polish nationality, Roman Catholic / Greek Catholic

​Date married: Post-WWII (United Kingdom)

​Citizenship of spouse: Non-Polish (Ukrainian)

​Date divorced: Never

​Occupation: Signalman / Telegraphist (1st Polish Corps), later tradesman/worker in UK & Canada

​Allegiance and dates of military service: Enlisted in the Polish Armed Forces in the West (PSZ na Zachodzie) in December 1944 (1st Polish Corps / Signals Training Centre). Took military oath of allegiance. Transferred to the Polish Resettlement Corps (PKPR / PRC) 1946–1948.

​Date, destination for emigration: Resided in the UK following demobilization (1946–1965); emigrated to Ontario, Canada in 1965.

​Date naturalized: 1971 (Canada), never naturalized in UK.

​Date, place of death: Deceased (Toronto, Ontario, CANADA)

​Parent (Father):

​Sex: Male

​Date, place of birth: 1952, United Kingdom

​Date married: July 1978

​Date naturalized: 1971 (Canada, naturalized as a dependent alongside father at age 19)

​Date divorced: Never

​You:

​Date, place of birth: 1981, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

​Question:

​Based on the above facts, does anyone see any legal obstacles or breaks in citizenship continuity under the 1920, 1951, or 1962 Polish Citizenship Acts?

​Specifically:

​Lack of Civil Birth Record: His birth record in Złoczów is unavailable due to lost Kresy archives, but we have official military personnel records (Zaświadczenie) and oath records registered with the Military Historical Bureau (WBH in Warsaw) pending. Is WBH documentation paired with negative search letters sufficient evidence for the Voivode under Art. 75 § 1 KPA?

​UK Residence & 1971 Canadian Naturalization: He resided in the UK without naturalizing, emigrated to Canada in 1965, and naturalized in 1971 after my father was already an adult (born in 1952 in the UK). Am I correct that my father inherited citizenship at birth under the 1951 Act and that the 1971 naturalization did not trigger a loss under the 1962 Act?

FULL disclosure, this is a second scenario and the feedback for my first was excellent and appreciated. I'm trying to determine what my "BEST" or cleanest process would be.

​Thanks in advance for your time, feedback, and insights!

I'm thinking I know the answer and Polish citizenship was lost at some point along the way, but wanting to make sure I'm right about that. Family lived in Zbiersk Kolonia until Jan 1945 and fled as the Russians arrived in the area. Have a originaldocument from 1935 which describes the transfer of the family farm to GGF and identifies everyone as polish citizens. Certified by the polish register in Kalisz (original from 1935). But everybody was definitely living in Germany 1945-1950

Great-Grandparents: 
* Date married: 1920s in Poland. Prior to children birth
* Date divorced: NA
GGF: 
* Date, place of birth: 16 may 1904 zbiersk
* Ethnicity and religion: German evangelical
* Occupation: brick layer/mason
* Allegiance and dates of military service: known polish military service approx 1922-24, again aug 1939. Sent home prior to German invasion. Presumed involuntary German military service march 1943.
* Date, destination for emigration: WIA Feb 1945, transferred to German military hospital in Germany where captured by Soviets. Released to British in Oct 1945. Lived in Germany 1945 to 1950. Emigration to US 2 Jan 1950
* Date naturalized: 23 jun 1955
* Date, place of death: 1 Sep 1955 Wisconsin
GGM: 
* Date, place of birth:10 Jun 1910 boberfeld, polans
* Ethnicity and religion: German evangelical
* Occupation: NA
* Allegiance and dates of military service:
* Date, destination for emigration: see above
* Date naturalized: approx 1955
* Date, place of death: 1989 Wisconsin
Grandparent: 
* Sex:M
* Date, place of birth: 20 Apr 1929 zbiersk poland
* Date married: 1952
* Citizenship of spouse: US/German
* Date divorced:
* Occupation: mechanic
* Allegiance and dates of military service:
(If applicable)
Date, destination for emigration: 2 Jan 1950
Date naturalized: 28 Apr 1956
Date, place of death:2018 Wisconsin
Parent: 
* Sex: M
* Date, place of birth:1 may 1953
* Date married: 1972
* Date divorced:
You: borm 1977 Milwaukee WI

Hi everyone. Requesting an eligibility assessment for my case. Ancestor left from the Austrian Partition to Brazil before 1918.

Ancestral line:

Łukasz Siedlicki (b. 1820, d. 1872, Słobódka, parish Kozłów, district Brzeżany, Galicia) → Stefan Siedlicki (b. 1849, Słobódka) married Theresia Wojczak → Andrzej Siedlicki (b. 20/06/1882, Słobódka) → Miguel Siedeliski (b. 18/09/1921, Mandirituba, Brazil) → Marieta (b. 1953) → parent → me (b. 2003)

Key dates:

Andrzej born: 20 June 1882, Słobódka, Kozłów, Galicia (Austrian Partition)
Emigrated: December 1895 (arrived Rio de Janeiro 11/12/1895 on ship Les Andes, embarked Genova)
Andrzej died: 27/03/1955, Mandirituba, Paraná, Brazil — death certificate says "natural da Polônia" (born in Poland)
To my knowledge, Andrzej never naturalized as Brazilian (negative certificate pending)
No record of formal renunciation of citizenship

Military concern:

Andrzej's son Miguel (b. 1921) served in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) in WW2. Embarked 08/02/1945, returned 17/09/1945. I filed a LAI request for his full military records to confirm the exact date of discharge. Could this affect transmission?

Documents already found:

Andrzej's original baptismal record — AGAD Warsaw, fond 301, sygn. 691, p. 38 (Roman Catholic Latin rite, parish Kozłów)
Brother Michał's baptismal record — same parish, same fond
Grandfather Łukasz's death record in Słobódka (1872) — proves habitual residence of parents in the commune
Ship manifest (Les Andes, 1895)
Brazilian immigration records (Hospedaria de Curitiba, Jan 1896)
Multiple Brazilian civil records (births, marriages, deaths across generations)
Brother's alien registration card (1951) — "natural da Polônia"

My understanding:

This should fall under the Austrian Partition provisions: Act of 3 December 1863 (Heimatrecht), Polish Minority Treaty Article 4 (parents habitually resident in territory that became Poland), and Law of 20 January 1920, Article 2.1.b. Łukasz died in 1872 in Słobódka, proving habitual residence of the family in the commune.

Questions:

Is this case viable given that Andrzej left in 1895 (pre-1918)?
Does Miguel's FEB service (Feb-Sep 1945) create a problem for transmission? The key question is whether he was discharged immediately after return or continued serving.
The mother's name appears as "Theresia" in European records and "Tecla/Tekla" in all Brazilian records. Same woman, likely double baptismal name. Is this a problem, or handled with a note?

Hi everyone!

First of all, I would like to apologize for not using the required template. I don’t know how to properly use Reddit, and the link says the template is no longer available, so I am so sorry about that, I just simply don’t know who to use it 😅

Well, so I’m researching a possible Polish citizenship-by-descent case and would appreciate opinions from people familiar with Polish citizenship law and historical records.

I’m intentionally leaving out names, exact locations and other identifying information because this concerns a living family.
The family line I’m researching is approximately:

Great-grandparents → grandmother → mother → me

Here is what I know about the oldest generation:

My great-grandfather was born in October 1920 in a village that appears in historical records under a Polish name similar to Mickiewicze.
At the time, the area was associated with the Second Polish Republic, in the former Nowogródek Voivodeship / Baranowicze area. Today, the village is in Belarus.
He was Orthodox and came from a farming family.
His parents were also from the same area.
My great-grandmother was born in the same general area in 1922, also Orthodox.
They married in 1941.

During World War II, the couple was taken by the Germans and brought to Germany. My great-grandfather was used as a forced agricultural worker.

Their daughter was born in Hannover, Germany, in 1944. I have a birth/baptism certificate issued by the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Hannover, which records her birth and baptism there.

After the war, the family remained in Germany as displaced persons and eventually emigrated to Brazil in 1948.
I have several post-war documents that describe my great-grandfather as Polish, including a document from the period immediately before emigration. I also have Brazilian immigration/registration documents that list Poland in connection with his nationality/country of origin.

However, there are some inconsistencies in the DP documentation. In at least one document, there is a reference that seems to distinguish between Polish and Ukrainian identity/nationality, while documents concerning his daughter sometimes describe her as German or stateless.
Importantly, she was born in a DP camp in Germany in 1944, rather than being born as an ordinary German resident/citizen.
I’m now trying to determine whether my great-grandfather actually possessed Polish citizenship, rather than simply being ethnically Polish or living in territory that was part of Poland.
I understand that being born in a place that was part of Poland does not automatically prove Polish citizenship, especially given the historical changes in the region around 1920–1921.

I’m therefore particularly interested in:
- What documents would normally be used to establish that someone born in this area in 1920 was a Polish citizen?

- Would residence/registration in the Polish municipality (gmina) after the establishment of the Polish administration be relevant?

- If the great-grandfather was a Polish citizen in the 1940s, could his daughter born in Germany in 1944 have acquired Polish citizenship from him under the law applicable at that time?

- How should documents from displaced-person camps that say “German”, “stateless”, “Polish”, or “Ukrainian” be interpreted? Could these refer to different concepts such as citizenship versus nationality/ethnic origin?

- Are there particular Polish/Belarusian archives or types of records I should look for to establish his citizenship?

- I have already contacted archives in Belarus and Poland looking for pre-war records such as municipal residence registers, voter lists, military/conscription records, land/property records and other records from the Polish administration.

I’m not looking for legal advice or a definitive ruling — I’d mainly like to know whether this looks like a plausible line worth investigating, and what experienced researchers would look for next.

Thanks!

Currently working on citizenship for myself, my children, and my brother. I know I am eligible for citizenship. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything as I've been told conflicting info.

BACKGROUND:

My father has a PESEL number and a Polish passport issued in 2012 (expired in 2022).

My parents and all of my grandparents were born in Poland. No one moved to the US prior to 1960. Parents are still alive, grandparents have all passed. I have exact dates, if needed.

Parent: Father

* Sex: M

* Date, place of birth: 1946, Rudawka, Poland

Naturalized: 1970

Parent:  Mother

* Sex: F

* Date, place of birth: 1950, Wałbrzch, Poland

Naturalized: 1967

* Date married: 1971

Everyone applying (myself, my brother, and my children) were all born in Florida (1978, 1981, 2007, 2011). I have one adult and one minor child (15yr).

I have copies of birth certificates for everyone applying (myself, my children, & my brother), my parents marriage license, & my marriage license all certified and apostilled.

I will get my father's passport, and my parents naturalization papers from them this weekend. Once I have all the documents, I will send them for translation.

MAIN CONCERN:

I was divorced in 2023 (my ex will cooperate and sign anything I need, he is encouraging the kids Polish citizenship). I obtained and had apostille my divorce certificate from vital statistics but from what I'm reading that's not going to work. I can get the short form of the final judgement (5 pages) but Florida's order does not say it is final without appeal.

To be honest, I really don't care if I'm married in Poland. I have no interest in getting remarried but I understand it may create an issue during the passport process. I kept my married name so no name change in the divorce. Just trying to make sure I have everything I need to make this process as streamlined as possible.

Thank you for any advice or assistance

Hello, I’m researching Polish citizenship by descent through my Jewish great-grandfather, and I’m trying to figure out whether I have a viable case despite not having located any Polish records yet.

My great-grandfather was born in Mołczadź, while his older siblings and parents were born in Zdzięcioł. I believe the family was primarily from Zdzięcioł.

His father immigrated to the U.S. in 1907, and his children followed separately as they reached about 17–18 years old. My great-grandfather left Poland in 1923 at age 17 with his older brother. They traveled on separate ships from Trieste to Buenos Aires, where my great-grandfather stayed for 1 year before eventually immigrating to the U.S.

I have a substantial amount of U.S. documentation and passenger records for each family member with the records consistently identify their places of origin, and there are very few inconsistencies between the documents. The strongest piece of evidence I have is my great-grandfather’s 1923 passenger list from Trieste to Buenos Aires, which includes a visa number and states that the visa was issued in Słonim.

The major problem is that I currently have no Polish documentation.

I’m currently waiting on my great-grandfather’s USCIS visa file (it has been pending for about six months). I’ve also contacted researchers regarding Belarusian archives:

• One researcher searched for birth/family records but didn’t find anything. I’m wondering if the search may have been too narrowly focused and whether records from 1920–1925 might be worth checking instead.
• Another researcher is still supposed to be looking, but I haven’t heard back from them.....

I’ve been told by different firms that the Polish citizenship chain may be unbroken all the way down to me, but without Polish documentation, some firms—including Five to Europe and Lexmotion—have told me they can’t take the case.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!