The Act of 2 April 2009, currently in force, provides in Article 38 for a special procedure for reacquisition of Polish citizenship (przywrócenie obywatelstwa polskiego). This procedure applies exclusively to persons who previously held Polish citizenship and lost it before 1 January 1999.

Reacquisition is granted upon the applicant’s request and is examined by the President of the Republic. The Act sets out express exceptions: citizenship is not reacquired by a person who, between 1 September 1939 and 8 May 1945, voluntarily enlisted in the armed forces of the Axis powers or their allies, or held public office in the service of the occupying forces.

Reacquisition of citizenship differs legally both from confirmation of citizenship by descent and from recognition through marriage, and requires an individualised assessment of the history of the specific loss.