For Americans & Canadians of Polish descent

Your great-grandparents left Poland. Did their citizenship leave with them?

For some families, Polish citizenship was passed down quietly — and never lost. If that happened in yours, it isn't granted; it's confirmed. This 45-page guide, written by a Polish attorney-at-law, shows you which dates and documents decide it — so you can start on your own family line at your own pace.

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Written by a Polish attorney-at-law
Official sources cited
No subscription

The $7 guide (front). Optional add-ons shown behind — offered separately at checkout, never pre-selected.

Why most families get stuck

The internet gives you two wrong answers.

"Everyone with Polish roots qualifies!" — and "He became an American, so it's over." Both are wrong as general statements. Polish citizenship law changed in 1920, 1951 and 1962, and the law that applies to each ancestor is generally the law in force at the time of the key event — a birth, a marriage, a naturalization.

That's why one date — the day great-grandpa naturalized, or the year grandma was born — can matter a great deal. This guide shows you which dates to find, which documents prove them and where they're kept.

What's inside · 45 pages · 17 chapters

A professional's framework — in plain English.

12question self-assessment flow

13myths, explained

7printable worksheets

4record languages in the word list (Polish, Latin, Russian, German)

The 1920 rule many families have never heard of — and why a child's age on the day a father naturalized can matter.
Why 19 January 1951 is a dividing line for naturalizations abroad and for women who married foreigners.
The military-service nuance in the 1920 Act, explained as general information — and which papers to look for.
Three fictional family files that show how a professional reads dates — without pretending to give a verdict.
"Russia", "Austria", "Galicia" on his papers? How to find the village on a modern map — and the parish that holds the records.
Where the records actually live: USCIS Genealogy and NARA (and where to check current fees), census citizenship codes, WWI/WWII draft cards, the SS-5, Library and Archives Canada, IRCC, Szukajwarchiwach, USC offices, parishes.
How to read an old record in Polish, Latin, Russian or German — word lists, months, the Cyrillic alphabet and the Julian/Gregorian two-date trap.
Surname decoder: Wiśniewski → Wisnewski → Visnefski, and first names like Wojciech → Albert.

01Read this first · Confirmation, not a grantp. 4

03A short history: 1920, 1951, 1962, todayp. 8

04How citizenship could be lost — or not passed downp. 13

05Your 12-question self-assessment flowp. 16

06Illustrative (fictional) family filesp. 18

07Document checklist, generation by generationp. 20

08Names & places: partitions, variants, modern lookupp. 22

09–11Where records live: US · Canada · Polandp. 25

12Reading old Polish, Latin, Russian & German recordsp. 30

13–1513 myths · 7 worksheets · glossaryp. 34

16Your next step: the free preliminary checkp. 43

What $7 is — and isn't

Start with the facts before you pay for anything bigger.

The guide doesn't replace professional work. It helps you organize your family's facts and documents first — whether or not you ever work with Margaret. For reference, the guide's price and Margaret's current fees as a radca prawny for the first stages (full fee list: polishlineage.com/#fees):

Step	What it is	Price
The Polish Ancestry Check	45-page guide, worksheets, record finder	$7
Free preliminary check	Margaret looks at the basic facts you send and tells you whether a paid document analysis under Polish law looks worthwhile — not a legal opinion	Free
Document analysis	One written legal opinion based on the documents you already have (flat fee, paid upfront)	$850
Complex case with online records search	For families with few documents: online records search, then the same written legal opinion	$1,500

Fees for any further work are agreed in writing first. Outcomes depend on individual facts.

30day
refund

30-day refund

30-day refund on every guide. No questions asked.

30-day refund. If any guide you bought from us isn't useful to you, email hello@polishlineage.com within 30 days of purchase and we'll refund what you paid for it — no questions asked. Refunds go back to the original card, usually within 5–10 business days. This refund covers the purchase price only — never the outcome of any citizenship matter. Any legal work by Małgorzata Schneider, radca prawny (document analysis, written opinions), is governed by its own written engagement letter.

Get the guide — $730-day refund on the guide

Questions

FAQ

Will this guide tell me if I qualify?

No guide can — and we won't pretend otherwise. It explains the general rules and helps you organize your family facts and documents. Whether citizenship can be confirmed depends on individual facts and is decided by Polish authorities.

Is this legal advice?

No. It's general information. It doesn't create an attorney–client relationship and isn't a legal opinion about your family. The author advises on Polish law only.

What does "confirming" citizenship mean?

If Polish citizenship passed down in your family without being lost, you may already hold it. A Polish authority (the voivode) can then issue a decision confirming that. It's not a grant of new citizenship.

My ancestors left before Poland was independent. Is it pointless?

Not automatically. The guide explains why dates such as emigration, naturalization and births matter — and which documents help clarify them. These cases are fact-specific.

Do I need to speak Polish?

Not to read the guide. Confirmation of citizenship you may already hold is a different procedure from recognition, which has a language requirement. The guide explains the difference.

Do I have to give up my US or Canadian citizenship?

Current Polish law doesn't require you to give up another citizenship for Polish citizenship to be confirmed. Check your other country's rules with an adviser in that country.

Is it for Canadians too?

Yes. It covers Canadian records — provincial vital statistics, Library and Archives Canada and IRCC's search of citizenship records — alongside US and Polish sources.

What if it isn't useful to me?

What happens after I read it?

Nothing, unless you want it to. Free preliminary check: Margaret looks at the basic facts you send and tells you whether a paid document analysis under Polish law looks worthwhile. It is not a legal opinion. If you go further, Margaret, as a radca prawny, handles your case under a written engagement letter with her. Margaret's fees for further work are $850 for document analysis — one written legal opinion based on the documents you already have — and $1,500 for a complex case with online records search, ending in the same written legal opinion.

How do I get the PDF?

Right after payment you are taken to your download page. The same link is printed on your Stripe invoice. Lost it? Email hello@polishlineage.com and we'll resend it.

Your great-grandparents left Poland. Did their citizenship leave with them?

The internet gives you two wrong answers.

A professional's framework — in plain English.

Real pages from the guide.

Start with the facts before you pay for anything bigger.

Is this guide right for you?

Good fit

Not a fit

Małgorzata (Margaret) Schneider

30-day refund on every guide. No questions asked.

Planning further ahead?

FAQ

Start with the facts. It's $7.