3. Recognition of a person as a Polish citizen covers the children of the person recognised as a Polish citizen if the
children are residing in Poland. (…)
The Polish Citizenship Act does not ensure preferential treatment for stateless persons for the mandatory period of
continuous residence in the country before application for citizenship (the general rule also stipulates five years7). But at the
same time, it determines different procedural rules:
(1) The acquisition of nationality by stateless persons may not be conditional on the presentation of evidence that a
person has renounced or been deprived of citizenship of another State.8
(2) While in cases of foreigners (including stateless persons) in general Section 8 of the Act uses “granting”
(nadanie), Section 9 says “recognising” (uznanie) Polish citizenship, referring as lex specialis to the case of
stateless persons or those with undetermined nationality. The different wording covers different procedures.
The first is a discretionary decision of the President of the Republic, without mandatory reasoning and
with no possibility of administrative appeal or judicial review. The latter decision is issued by a wojewoda,
in a procedure regulated by the Polish Code of Administrative Procedure.9 In this case, the wojewoda’s
“administrative discretion” is limited, according to the well-established jurisprudence of the Supreme
Administrative Court (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny), in contrast to the unlimited scope of presidential
discretion, taking into account concerns of public interest. Negative decisions shall contain justification and may
be challenged by an administrative appeal to the President of the Office for Repatriation and Aliens (ORA). The
decision of the ORA is subject to judicial review by a two-tier system of administrative courts.10
Slovenia
The Citizenship Act of the Republic of Slovenia11 reflects the jus sanguinis principle. The Slovene Citizenship Act also
contains provisions evoking the jus soli principle:
A child born or found on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia of unknown parentage or whose parents are of unknown
citizenship or have no citizenship at all shall acquire citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia.12
Section 10 of the Act sets forth general conditions for obtaining Slovene citizenship through naturalisation:
The competent authorities may within their discretion admit the petitioner through naturalisation to the citizenship of
the Republic of Slovenia if the State is interested in such an act for national reason. The person shall fulfil the following
conditions:
1. that the person has reached 18 years of age;
2. that the person has a release from current citizenship or can prove that such a release will be granted if he/she
acquires citizenship of the Republic of Slovenia,13
3. that the person has been actually living in the Republic of Slovenia for the period of 10 years, of which the last
five years prior to the petition for citizenship must be without interruption and has to have a legal alien’s status;
4. the person has guaranteed a permanent source of income of an amount that enables him/her and persons who
he/she is under the law obliged to maintain material and social welfare;
5. the person must demonstrate active command of the Slovenian language in an obligatory written and oral
examination;
6. that the person has not been sentenced to a prison term longer than three months or that has not been
sentenced conditionally to a prison term with a test period longer than one year;
7. that there is no ban on the person’s residence in the Republic of Slovenia;
7. Ibid., Section 8 (1).
8. Ibid., Section 9 (4).
9. Act of 14 June 1960.
10. Act 30 August 2002 on procedures before administrative courts, Section 3 (2) (1).
11. The Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 1/91, 30/91, 38/92; also see: Constitutional Court decision in 61/92,
Constitutional Court decision in 61/92, 13/94, Constitutional Court decision in 59/99, 96/2002 and 127/06.
12. Slovene Citizenship Act, Section 9.
13. According to the explanatory part of the present Section, this condition is fulfilled “if the person has no citizenship at all or if the
person can submit the evidence that his/her own citizenship is cancelled through naturalisation by the law of his own State.”
A Guide to Teaching on Statelessness 53