In Poland, the cost of obtaining Polish citizenship has increased and migration rules have been tightened
The beginning of August 2025 became a turning point in the policy of the Republic of Poland regarding foreigners, in particular those who apply for citizenship. New administrative rules came into force on August 1, which not only significantly change the procedure for considering applications for Polish citizenship, but also significantly increase the cost of these procedures. Also, in parallel with these changes, Warsaw intensified its rhetoric regarding the visa-free regime for citizens of certain countries. All this creates new circumstances for Ukrainians who are in Poland under temporary or permanent protection and are considering changing their legal status.
Cancellation of the free procedure of submission through the President
One of the most notable changes concerns the procedure for granting citizenship through a decision of the President of Poland (granting obywatelstwa). Previously, this procedure did not involve any financial costs for the applicant — there was neither an administrative fee nor a fee for processing documents. From August 1, 2025, this has changed: now everyone who submits documents to the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland with a request to grant Polish citizenship must pay a state fee of PLN 1,669. The absence of the right to a refund of this amount in case of refusal also remains valid. He talks about it AgroReview
For the majority of Ukrainian refugees who were counting on gradual legal consolidation in Poland through individual petitions to the president, these changes may prove to be a significant barrier. The presidential procedure itself is not a mechanism for automatic acquisition of citizenship, but a form of exceptional political decision. Now she has also lost her financial availability.
Registration through the voivode
Another change affected the alternative procedure — recognition as a citizen of the Republic of Poland through the voivode (uznanie za obywatela). Until August 2025, the cost of the administrative fee was PLN 219. From now on, the applicant is obliged to pay PLN 1,000 for the consideration of the case. This amount is also non-refundable in case of refusal.
In practice, this procedure was more common among foreigners, in particular Ukrainians, who fulfilled all the conditions: many years of residence in Poland, knowledge of the language, stable source of income, lack of criminal record. Its increase in price automatically raises the financial threshold of access to citizenship for a wide range of people with low or unstable income.
New deadlines for consideration of applications
In addition to financial changes, the deadlines for considering applications have also changed. The inspector responsible for checking the documents now has up to six months to make a final decision. This means that none of the procedures have guarantees of efficiency, even if a complete set of documents is provided.
Against the background of the growing burden on the administrative system related to migration, these six months can be a long period of legal uncertainty for the applicant, which is important, in particular, for planning a professional or family life in the country.
Political context
Changes in the procedure for obtaining citizenship do not occur in isolation. At the same time, the Polish authorities are negotiating a possible revision of the visa-free regime for citizens of certain countries. This is an initiative of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, announced by Deputy Minister Czeslaw Mrocek. According to him, Poland plans to initiate restrictions on free entry at the level of the Schengen zone for those countries that, in Warsaw’s opinion, pose a security threat.
The impetus for this rhetoric was the case of a 27-year-old citizen of Colombia, who was detained in May 2024 on suspicion of carrying out sabotage tasks for the benefit of the Russian special services. The investigation revealed that under the guise of a scientist, the man collected intelligence and organized the arson of facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic. In June 2025, a Czech court found him guilty and sentenced him to eight years in prison. In Prague, they directly pointed to the Russian footprint in these actions.
In response, Poland has already introduced a visa regime for Colombian citizens who come to earn money, and has also announced its intention to extend the restrictions to other citizens of third countries.
What does this mean for Ukrainians in Poland
Ukrainians who are in Poland on the basis of temporary protection or within the framework of other forms of legal residence are currently not under threat of visa-free cancellation. At the same time, the general tendency to complicate procedures — both for granting citizenship and controlling migration flows — creates a more rigid regulatory environment.
Financial burdens, extended processing times, stricter security controls, increased background checks all make changing immigration status more costly and less predictable. For some Ukrainian families who considered the prospect of integration in Poland, this means the need to reassess time horizons, financial plans and the very strategy of staying in the country.
At the same time, political attention to the topic of migration and security is increasing in the public space, which creates a new climate — less flexible, less loyal, and more formalized. Ukrainians who have already integrated into Polish society or plan to do so should take into account the new reality with its financial and procedural conditions.
