Other information

Validity periods for passports

  1. A passport issued to a person who has reached the age of 12 is valid for 10 years from the date of issue.
  2. A passport issued to a person who has not reached the age of 12 is valid for 5 years from the date of issue.
  3. A second passport issued to the same person, pursuant to Article 46, is valid for 3 years from the date of its issuance.
  4. A temporary passport is valid for the period indicated therein, but no longer than 365 days from the date of its issuance.

Prerequisites for having two valid passport documents

The same person may be issued a second passport in exceptional cases, in particular, justified by:

  1. reasons for the protection of his life and health,
  2. serious difficulties in his humanitarian or professional activities,
  3. the possession in the passport of visas or stamps confirming the crossing of the border of countries or residence in their territory, preventing or significantly hindering his entry into the territory of another country,
  4. considerations of state security
    • upon the probability of these circumstances.

Obligation to report the loss of or damage to a passport document

  1. The holder of a passport or temporary passport shall immediately report to any governor or consul the fact of loss or damage to the passport or temporary passport.
  2. The report of loss or damage to a passport document of a passport document holder who does not have legal capacity or has limited legal capacity shall be made immediately by the mother, father, legal guardian or curator.

Procedure in case of finding a passport document

  1. A person who has found his passport document, previously reported as lost, is obliged to immediately return the document to any governor or consul.
  2. A person who has found another person’s passport document is obliged to immediately transfer the document to any provincial governor or consul.
  3. The passport document referred to in para. 2, may be handed over to the Police, Border Guard or other public administration body, which shall immediately hand over the document to any governor.
  4. In the cases referred to in items. 1-3, the recovered diplomatic passport or service passport shall be returned by the governor or consul to the minister responsible for foreign affairs.

Expiration of a passport document

  1. A passport document loses its validity with the expiration of the validity period indicated in the document.
  2. During the period of validity, the passport document shall be cancelled in the event of:
    • change of the data contained in the passport document
    • receipt of a new passport document
    • notification of loss, damage to the passport document or notification of unauthorized use of personal data of the passport document holder;
    • transfer of the passport document by a third party;
    • a citizen’s request for cancellation of a held passport document;
    • loss of Polish citizenship by the holder of a passport document;
    • death of the holder of a passport document;
    • determination by the passport authority of a technical defect or in case of incorrect personalization;
    • loss of the passport document before the passport document is delivered to the passport authority;
    • application for cancellation of a passport document submitted by:
      • a court conducting criminal or fiscal offense proceedings against the holder of the passport document, juvenile proceedings, or conducting civil proceedings,
      • the body conducting pre-trial proceedings, the body conducting enforcement proceedings in a criminal case, including a fiscal offence, against the holder of a passport document,
      • the court conducting proceedings for the exercise of parental authority for the cancellation of the passport document of a person without legal capacity or a person with limited legal capacity who has not reached the age of 18.