Sejm (Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) adopted some of the Senate’s amendments to the Act on Passport Documents, creating the Register of Passport Documents (RDP) and departing from the paper version of the application for a passport. The amendments were mainly legislative in nature.
At the same time, the act lowers the age limit for issuing 10-year passports to 12 years and extends the validity of second passports to three years.
The Act on Passport Documents concerns the construction of a new Register of Passport Documents implemented as part of the project “Development of the System of State Registers” – a combination of the most important registers, including PESEL, Personal ID Register, Civil Status Register and Contact Data Register, thanks to which it will be easier and faster to service.
Thanks to the register of passport documents, it will be possible to launch e-services for citizens, including verification of the validity of the passport, verification of the correctness of the data collected in the passport register, ensuring direct and ongoing information to citizens about the passport’s readiness for collection, and informing about changes in the passport status.
It will also be possible to immediately report a lost passport, increasing the security of the person for whom the lost passport has been issued. As a result of building a register of passport documents, traditional services will be modified, and the paper version of the application for a passport document will be eliminated. The application will be generated in the register of passport documents by the official and then signed by the applicant on the signature collection device.
Moreover, when collecting the passport, instead of the absolute requirement to confirm the identity solely on the basis of a valid identity document, it was also proposed to confirm the identity of the person on the basis of a fingerprint by comparing the fingerprint of the receiving person with the fingerprint recorded in the passport document.
The Act specifies the catalog of those exempt from paying the fee for the passport, the catalog of those entitled to the reduced fee, and specifies the maximum thresholds of admissible discounts.
It assumes lowering the age limit from which passports with a 10-year validity period and a signature will be reduced to 12 years. People under 12 will receive a passport with a validity period of 5 years.
Another of the changes concerns the extension of the validity period of the so-called a second passport from two to three years. At the same time, it simplifies the procedures for applying for a second passport. After the changes, they are to be issued by voivodes and consuls, thus taking over the competences of the minister responsible for internal affairs.
The catalog of people who will be entitled to a temporary passport is to be extended to include minors who urgently need to go abroad due to the continuation of education, the development of individual skills or the need to provide care for them.
The act is expected to enter into force on March 27, except for the provisions that are to enter into force on a different date.
Source: Sejm and ISBnews
