On August 15, 2012, the new Act on Polish Citizenship entered into force.
Unless in very exceptional circumstances, until the publication of the Act, only the following three categories of people could apply for the Polish citizenship:
i) Stateless persons;
ii) Spouses of Polish citizens;
iii) Newborns for whom the parents requested a Polish citizenship.
 
With the new provisions the president is allowed to grant citizenship to all foreigners, regardless of whether and how long they have been residing in Poland. In particular, the Polish citizenship shall be given to all foreigners who:
i) reside in Poland for at least three years on the basis of a permanent residence permit;
ii) have a regular income and rent or own an apartment in Poland;
iii) know the Polish language.
Since Poland is a member of the EU, Polish citizenship requirements convey certain rights to work within the EEA countries and therefore these changes have implications for the labour market of those EEA countries.