Red Tape Hot Box

Summer holidays are over and soon it will be Christmas when many people plan another vacation. Thus, if your Polish passport has expired or you have lost it, now is a good time to do something about it. I had to go through this myself when my passport expired. Unfortunately, I noticed it a month before my planned trip abroad. I thought I had plenty of time, but guess what? One month turned out not to be enough time. First of all, I had to pay zł. 50 at the post office (there's a reduced rate for students), buy stamps - another zł. 5 - and then set off to find the passport office assigned to the city quarter where I'm registered. When I finally got there with the zł. 50 receipt and application form in my hand, there was a queue stretching from the front office down a long and narrow corridor and up two flights of stairs past the toilets - pause for relief before standing in line for more than two hours just to hand over the money and papers. It took more than a month for me to renew my passport. Of course, after I arrived at the office again, I had to wait another hour in line before the passport was actually back in my hands. And my trip abroad got postponed to next year.
Renewing passports in other countries, however, is usually less of a headache. In Denmark, for example, no matter where you are registered you can apply for your passport at the nearest agency. It should be ready to collect in person in ten days or by post in two weeks. There's also a fast-track procedure for emergencies.
In Britain, you go to the main passport office in London or one of the offices around the country and get your new passport the same day. It's one-stop shopping with a cashier on the premises. By post it takes ten working days. There's also an emergency passport procedure.
In Austria, you can even receive your passport on the day of application.

Red Tape bugging you? Tell Mateusz about it at mdembinski@wbj.pl