Passports – general information
A valid passport document:
• allows you to cross borders;
• confirms your Polish citizenship;
• confirms the identity of the passport bearer (concerning the details listed in the document).
A passport issued to a person under 12 years of age is valid for 5 years since the date of issue. A passport issued to a person over 12 years of age is valid for 10 years since the date of issue.
A passport contains a microprocessor that stores your biometric data: face image and fingerprints.
A temporary passport may be issued to persons:
• staying outside the territory of the Republic of Poland (if they so wish and file an application for such document to be issued);
• whose fingerprints cannot be physically taken, if this obstacle is temporary;
• in urgent situations:
- to return to the place of residence,
- related to illness,
- related to illness or burial of a family member,
- related to professional activities,
- related to compulsory education of persons who do not have capacity for legal transactions or have limited capacity for legal transactions and are under 18 years of age, to the development of their individual skills, or to provide care to such persons, if necessary;
• staying outside the borders of the Republic of Poland, if they have not been assigned a PESEL number, in particularly justified cases, if circumstances prevent or considerably hinder assigning the PESEL number and issuing a temporary passport is necessary due to the protection of material rights and interests of the person who is to be issued the temporary passport;
A temporary passport is valid for the period stated therein, but not longer than for 365 days from the date of issue.
IMPORTANT! An honorary consul does not issue temporary passports.
IMPORTANT! When planning a trip abroad, check the current regulations defining the rules of entrance and stay on the territory of a particular country, including as regards the required passport validity period and the possibility of crossing the border on the basis of a temporary passport.
Legal basis
The Passport Documents Act of 27 January 2022
Regulation of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration on passport documents of 9 September 2022
The Consular Law Act of 25 June 2015
Ustawa z dnia 25 czerwca 2015 r. Prawo konsularne (Dz. U. z 2018 r. poz. 2141, z późn. zm.)
Regulation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on consular fees of 18 December 2015