Deluxe passport Services

01.07.2009

Deluxe passport Services

The Interregional Center for Passport Documents Issuance in the Darnitsa district of Kyiv, which opened its doors in November 2008, executed around 6000 travel passports by the end of June of the current year. The center is very popular due to the high quality of service and low prices

The need to obtain a travel passport is particularly felt during the holiday season. Everyone is aware of a big difference between a quality service and what you usually expect from departments of physical persons registration (formerly visa and registration offices) where Ukrainians are used to receiving their “passes” abroad.

A new generation of interregional centers may become a convenient alternative for people wishing to get a travel document. Our Product wrote that on November 4, 2008 the most advanced Interregional Center for Passport Documents Issuance was opened in the Darnitsa district of Kyiv (64 Lenin Str.). The Center features the latest technologies of the branch. It was created by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in close partnership with the Ukrainian EDAPS Consortium.

Mr. Yuri Lutsenko, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine; Mr. Leonid Kravchuk, first President of Ukraine, who signed a memorable Resolution on the Ukrainian travel passport in 1993; and Mr. Vasyl Gritsak, People’s Deputy, were among those who attended the opening ceremony at the Center. The reporters of Our Product decided to see for themselves if the level of service at the Center was really as high as expected. What we saw was really impressive.

Mr. Leonid Kravchuk, first President of Ukraine, became the first client of the Center. In 1993 he signed a memorable Resolution on the Ukrainian travel passport

The Interregional Center for Passport Documents Issuance in Darnitsa district is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies which fully comply with all international and national standards. The work of the Center aims for quality and efficient service. While the Center was still being designed, specialists worked out footpaths for visitors and personnel, which ensured quick service and prevented people from lining up in small spaces.

For the convenience of visitors, each department of the Center is numbered in strict compliance with the algorithm of passing through all stages of processing a travel passport, from filing an application to the issuance of the document. Unlike other departments of physical persons registration processing travel passports, where applications from citizens are only received one or two days a week (the rest of the week being spent on processing documents), the Interregional Center receives applications and issues documents during five working days. Ukrainians can have their travel documents processed at the Center regardless of their place of registration.

All the stages of the document processing (receiving applications, data entry, issuance, etc.) are carried out by officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the Center. In departments 1 and 2, smiling staff members receive applications and documents from citizens to process their travel passports. Persons aged 16 and older present their national ID, tax number and a travel document (if available). Visitors aged 18-25 who are subject to compulsory military service are also required to submit a certificate from the military enlistment office proving their right to leave Ukraine.

To process a travel documents for a child one needs to file a birth certificate copy and 2 photos 3.5х4.5 if a child is aged 5 or older. The police clearance certificate doesn’t have to be submitted; the officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs check this information in the Ministry database (further detailed information regarding the necessary documents can be found at www.passport-ua.org).

After filing all the required documents, clients pay for all services connected with the passport processing. The passport may be issued in 3 days, 10 days, or and in one month. The cost of the service at the Center is the lowest in Kyiv and depends on how quickly people want to get their passports. It is 343, 38 UAH for up to 30 days; 674, 58 UAH for up to 10 days and 830, 75 UAH for up to 3 days. The Center also houses a bank department which saves visitors from trying to find a payment office.

The whole procedure from filling documents to personal information entry into a centralized database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine takes less than 15 minutes

There's the moment of the "pass" abroad

Then visitors are requested to have their photo taken for the passport and after this their information is checked for accuracy before it is entered into the database. Since people always aim for a perfect passport photo, several pictures are usually taken which allows visitors to choose the best one for their document. Our Product reporter found that the whole procedure from filing documents to data submittal takes 15-20 minutes. To receive a processed travel passport, visitors must come to the Center at an appointed date with their national ID.

There is a free parking lot in front of the Center. The hall is equipped with comfortable chairs and air conditioning for visitors waiting for their turn to be photographed. All the information appears on screens located in the hall and it is also announced through loudspeakers.

Visitors don’t need to be afraid of long lines in the Center as its handling capacity is 400 people a day. As of June 2009 around 80 people come to the Center daily. For comparison, an average physical persons registration department can service not more than 60 persons a day and they only work with clients a few days a week. The total number of travel passports processed in the Interregional Center is currently 6000.

Visitors from Kenya discussing technologies of the EDAPS Consortium applied at the Center

It is no surprise that the Interregional Center is so popular among celebrities. As Our Product reported, Mr. Leonid Kravchuk, first President of Ukraine, became the first client of the Center. At the opening ceremony he received a new travel passport with a polycarbonate data page (which was was developed and implemented by the EDAPS Consortium).

On May 20, reporters of Our Product spotted a soccer star at the Center, Mr. Sergei Rebrov, who holds the title of the best bombardier of Ukrainian championship. Mr. Rebrov needed to have his passports processed in three days. It took him around 15 minutes to file all the necessary documents.

The legendary ex-forward of Kyiv Dynamo commented on the level of service at the Center. Rebrov said that he needed to renew his travel passport as he had to leave for Austria for training.

“The quality of the service here is very high and the Center is quite comfortable. The facility features the latest technologies. Visitors are well treated and the documents are processed quickly, unlike other similar centers where you have to wait in long lines”, says Rebrov.

Soccer player Sergei Rebrov was impressed by the Interregional Center for Passport Documents Issuance

Singer Gaitana, showman Dmitry Koliadenko, TV presenter Nikolai Lutsenko and other famous people who value their time and appreciate the quality of the service above all also received their passports at the Center.

On June 19 the Interregional Center hosted visitors from Kenya. All the delegates were officers of the Ministry of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons. They came to the Center to check the practical implementation of the Ukrainian passport system. The excursion around the Center was part of the working visit (June 18-19) of the Kenyan Ministry representatives to the Ukrainian EDAPS Consortium and to KP VTI (Joint Stock Company) in particular.

As Our Product reported, in February 2009 specialists of VTI successfully completed the implementation in Kenya of a demographic register (Integrated Population Registration System – IPRS) (see Our Product No1/2009, pp. 32-36). The delegation visited EDAPS to improve their knowledge of the system.

During the excursion around the Interregional Center Kenyan, specialists studied the whole algorithm of processing passport documents step by step. The foreign visitors recognized the high efficiency and quality of servicing clients of the Center.

Not only celebrities or foreign visitors receive a warm welcome at the Center. Other citizens who processed their passports here were very happy with the result.

Evgeny, a programmer from Kyiv, says, “I came to the Center with my wife and two little children. In a month we are planning to go to Croatia with the whole family. Frankly, I didn’t expect the Center to be so nice and comfortable. I was really surprised when I first entered it. Even the children liked it. It took us about 30 minutes to file all the required documents for me, my wife and our children without having to run around to different offices”.

Svetlana, a student from Mariupol, shared her impressions, “I am a student in Kyiv. In August I am going to Germany on an exchange program and of course I need a travel passport. As I had no time to go back home I had to search for ways of getting a document here. I am glad to have fond this Center where people can have their documents processed regardless of their place of registration”.

Text: Anna Levkovskaya

Photo: Dmitry Korablyov

Source: Magazine "Our Product" No 2(2009)