Regulatory changes: Post-secondary school - B1 certificate requirement
Pursuant to Article 211 of the Act on Foreigners, a foreigner applying for a residence permit for a long-term resident of the European Union should fulfil the condition of having a confirmed knowledge of the Polish language, and pursuant to Article 30(2) of the Act on Polish Citizenship, a foreigner applying for recognition as a Polish citizen should have the knowledge of the Polish language confirmed by an official certification at a language proficiency level of at least B1.
Foreigners who completed post-secondary education on the territory of the Republic of Poland fulfilled the above condition and could apply for the aforementioned permit. The situation is likely to change in the near future, as on 7 January 2025, at the initiative of the Prime Minister - Donald Tusk - the Sejm of the Republic of Poland received a draft Act on amending certain acts in order to eliminate irregularities in the visa system of the Republic of Poland. The identification of these irregularities is mainly the result of:
1) the work of the Working Group established on 8 March 2024 by Decision No. 1/2024 of the Chairman of theInterministerial Team for Migration,
2) the audit of the Supreme Audit Office entitled: ‘Supervision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs over consular activities’, which covered the period from 1 January 2018 to 17 May 2024;
3) Work on the document adopted by Resolution No. 120 of the Council of Ministers of 15 October 2024 entitled: ‘Take back control. Ensure Security. Comprehensive and responsible migration strategy of Poland for 2025-2030’.
The amendments mainly concern the Acts: Act on the Education System, Act on the Social Insurance System, Act on the Polish Language, Act on Polish Citizenship, Act on Foreigners, Act on Educational Law, Act on Higher Education Law and others.
The main assumption of the draft is to eliminate the possibility of confirming the knowledge of Polish language at B1 proficiency level under the condition of graduation from a post-secondary school.
The bill introduces transitional periods in the event of enactment of amendments to the aforementioned laws:
- in proceedings for granting a long-term resident of the EU or for recognition as a Polish citizen initiated before 30.06.2025 it will still be possible to use a post-secondary school leaving certificate for the purpose of meeting the Polish language proficiency level B1.
- a post-secondary school leaving certificate in order to fulfil the requirement of Polish language proficiency at B1 proficiency level may be used in proceedings for the grant of a long-term EU resident or for recognition as a Polish citizen initiated between 30.06.2025 and 30.06.2026, provided that it was issued until 30.06.2025,
- after 30.06.2026 it will not be possible to use a post-secondary school leaving certificate in proceedings for recognition as a Polish citizen or a long-term EU resident's permit
Noteworthy is the position of the Ukrainian Home Foundation of 16.01.2025, which expresses its disapproval of the draft law in terms of Article 7, which introduces changes to Article 165 of the Law on Education, as a result of which persons applying for post-secondary education will have to obtain a certificate confirming their knowledge of the Polish language at B1 proficiency level. This means that many people, including war refugees, will not be able to acquire the profession necessary to work in the territory of the Republic of Poland, will not be able to improve their professional qualifications and will create an artificial barrier to the process of integration of foreigners already residing in Poland.
As of now, the draft Act has been referred to the Sejm for the first reading on 23.01.2025 and the exact date when the Act may be enacted is not known.
The Law Office of Advocate Andriy Dementiy will keep you updated on the legislative progress of this case
Source: https://www.sejm.gov.pl/Sejm10.nsf/PrzebiegProc.xsp?nr=951