New passport regulations go into effect on 19 February and will include expiry dates for passports for children under 5 years of age.

Passports granted to children under age five will be valid for 12 months and these children will not be required to be present when filing for a passport – a requirement that has, to date, been in place for parents filing for a biometric passport for their child.

New price regulations for passport have been set as well: children’s passports for school purposes will cost 30 zloty (less than 10 euro), passports for children up to 13 years old will cost 60 zloty (about 15 euro), passports for those older than 13 will cost 140 zloty (about 35 euro) and retirees, the elderly and students with proper identification will be entitled to 50 percent off the fee.

Additionally, passports for those Poles who have never been registered in Poland will now be administered by regional government’s wherever a given citizen files.

As well, people will be required to file for a new passport after they change their name (in the case of marriage, for example) as their passport will no longer be valid 60 days after a name change. (mmj)