The new Polish passport will be available to citizens next year.  It is released on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining independence.

‘Passports are re-designed about every 10 years. The current design was approved in 2006 so it is high time we proposed a new one,’ said Minister Błaszczak during his visit to the Printing Works.

President Jakub Skiba stressed that the passport would be fitted with a number of advanced security features.  ‘It will be one of the best secured documents,’ he added.

Aleksandra Grynkiewicz, a PWPW specialist, described security features of the new passport and said that the most considerable change, as compared to current passports, pertains to the personalized page, which will be entirely made of polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a very sturdy and durable material allowing to implement new security features of which the most important and most noticeable include an electronic layer in the form of a chip with biometric data.  Furthermore, polycarbonate personalized page makes it possible to fit a document with security features specific for both paper and plastic documents.

The briefing was also attended by Andrzej Kropiwnicki, Head of the Mazovian Board of NSZZ “Solidarność”, who referred to the social dialogue with trade unions held currently in the Company.  He expressed a hope that talks would soon lead to an agreement between the employer and the trade unions.