Diversion, sabotage, work for a foreign intelligence service, acts of terrorism, or other serious crimes cannot be grounds for stripping a foreigner of Polish citizenship once it has been granted. The services are sounding the alarm, urging that the loophole in Polish law be closed as soon as possible.
Compared with other countries, Poland has very liberal requirements for foreigners seeking citizenship. Under the regulations, any foreign national who has lived permanently in the country for three years may apply for it.
“Poland does not have legal mechanisms allowing citizenship to be revoked in cases of a significant threat to national security or other justified circumstances – even when citizenship was obtained on the basis of false information or in another criminal manner,” warn former officers of the services from the Frontline Foundation in a report cited by Rzeczpospolita.
The organization’s co-founder, Gen. Maciej Materka, a former head of the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW), noted that three years have just passed since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine, meaning Poland should expect a flood of applications for Polish citizenship from refugees residing in the country. He cautioned that this group may include individuals with fabricated identities, planted by foreign intelligence services that will exploit Poland’s regulations and democratic procedures, the ease of obtaining Polish citizenship, and the lack of any possibility of revoking it. In his view, the absence of a swift response and legal changes could lead to a growing threat, “from terrorist attacks to political movements generated by foreign services,” he warned.
How it (doesn’t) work in practice
The rp.pl portal recalled the case of a lawyer holding both Polish and Russian citizenship who was convicted of spying for the Kremlin. Stanisław Sz. worked for military intelligence, the Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU), and, according to the verdict, recruited two human sources. After serving his sentence in a Polish prison, he was released after seven years.
“He has become an energetic businessman, attends dozens of events a year, and appears at embassies. He shines at conferences on Ukraine’s reconstruction,” recently revealed the Frontstory.pl portal, noting that “his activity resembles what he did on behalf of the GRU before his arrest.” Under the current law, the crimes he committed did not result in Stanisław Sz. being stripped of his Polish citizenship.