What if you accidentally washed your passport in the washing machine?

A machine-washed passport is a situation that could be comical if the process of recovering a document took 1-2 days.

However, it can take at least a month to get it. Therefore, you need to try to reanimate the document yourself.

Read about what to do if you accidentally washed the passport of a Russian citizen in the washing machine, how to dry it and you can use it in the future, read the article.

How to dry after accidental washing?

Immediately after removing the passport from the washing machine, you need to assess the degree of damage... Surprisingly, sometimes the document is hardly affected by the water.

This can happen if it was lying in a buttoned jacket pocket, in a dense cover, and the wash itself was carried out in a delicate mode.

The procedure should be as follows:

1. Inspect the document for damage.
2. Flip through the pages, assess the status of the seals and all available records. If they are not damaged, then you can try to dry the document.
3. Remove the cover, carefully separate the pages from each other.
4. Insert white paper between each sheet. It will act as a blotter.
5. You need to change napkins regularly, as they get wet, about every 20-30 minutes.
6. Leave the document in a dry, well-ventilated room.

When the passport is completely dry, it is placed under a press to align the pages. A stack of books can act as a load. The identity card must remain under them for at least a day.

Never dry the document on a hot battery.... The pages are deformed under the influence of heat, it will be impossible to return them to their original state. For the same reason, they refuse to use a hair dryer.

Do not shake the document or try to wring out the paper manually. Under such pressure, wet pages will simply break.

Can I use a washed document?

There are no laws in the Constitution of the Russian Federation that would clearly regulate the degree of deterioration of a passport. However, the grounds are spelled out allowing it to be considered invalid.

These include:

• missing pages, or their serious damage;
• the presence of records that are difficult to parse;
• fuzzy, faded or faded photo;
• blurry seals and stamps that cannot be identified.

All pages must be clean and readable... Do not hope that when checking a passport, employees of departments will ignore the existing damage.

When the foreign passport has been washed, it is better to replace it immediately. If during the customs clearance the document seems suspicious to the employee, you can, at least, be late for your flight. In the worst case, the person will be detained pending clarification of the circumstances.

How to get a new one?

If after washing the passport is badly damaged, it needs to be replaced. You need to contact one of the following departments:

1. Go to the MFC.
2. Visit a representative service "One Window" or "My Documents".
3. Go to the Migration Police Department (for foreign citizens).
4. Submit an application on the website of the State. services.

Documents that will be required to obtain a new identity card:

• SNILS;
• damaged old passport;
• birth certificate;
• document on the conclusion or dissolution of marriage;
• international passport;
• photos in a fixed format.

Is it possible to change it online?

You cannot change your passport online. However, the Internet makes it possible to reduce the downtime in queues and reduce the frequency of visits to the MFC to 2 times. To facilitate the process of replacing a document, you need to go to the website of the State. services.

Procedure:

1. In the category "Passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation" indicate the reason for its replacement and select the type of service "Electronic".

   This will open a new window. There you can see an electronic application that you need to fill out.

2. Be sure to upload a photo, which must be taken in advance.
3. After filling in the remaining columns (indicate data on marital status, children and parents), you need to select the point of obtaining a passport: at the place of residence or at the place of stay.
4. The system will offer to determine the time that will be convenient for visiting a government institution.

A person needs to appear at the MFC with a full package of documents. After checking them, the employee will set a date when you can come for a new ID. When applying at the place of residence, the time for producing the document is about 10 days, and at the place of stay - about 2 months.

You need to fill in all the fields carefully, avoiding mistakes... Otherwise, the application will not be processed, and the person will be refused to replace the passport. You can send the application again after eliminating the inaccuracies.

Will there be a fine?

The fine for a damaged passport is 1,500 rubles. You can pay for it at Sberbank or on the State Services website. In the latter case, the user is given a 30% discount. When contacting the MFC, you need to have a printed receipt of payment of the fine with you.

The cost of the service in this case will be only 300 rubles (only state duty is paid)... As a rule, in such situations, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs do not find fault with the appearance of the document.

After replacement, the old passport will still be destroyed. They do not have the right to refuse to accept a document in the department. In other cases, the fine will have to be paid.

Mitigating circumstances include:

• fire,
• flood,
• Traffic accidents and injuries.

None of the items are suitable for washing a passport in a typewriter. If after calculating the fine it is not paid within 60 days, it can be doubled.This must be borne in mind when applying for a change of document.

The fine cannot be called unreasonable, it is not a whim of the MFC employees... This item is provided by law. It says that every citizen must carefully keep a passport and not allow it to be deliberately damaged.

If there is an objection, you can challenge the penalties in court, but the likelihood of the company's success is low.

Conclusion

If, through negligence, the passport has gone through the cleaning procedure in the washing machine, there is no need to panic. It must be inspected, thoroughly dried and leveled.

To avoid unpleasant situations, pockets should be carefully checked before each wash.