We love to travel. You probably do too. From time to time, we all need to get our passports renewed. After returning from our transatlantic voyage on Cunard in mid January, we decided this was a good time to get the job done. The process was smoother than published stories indicate. In case you are considering doing the same, here is what happened with us.
Our US Passports (the only ones we have!) expire in April 2024, ten years after they were issued. You might wonder “Why worry about it in January 2023? You have plenty of time!” You have less time than you might imagine! Many countries want to see a six-month window between your arrival date and the expiration of your passport. This is known as the six-month passport validity rule. (1) Some countries only require three months. The Schengen Agreement countries, representing 26+ European countries have this rule. (2) 71 countries have a six-month rule. (3) The bottom line is simple: Plan ahead.
We learned the basics on how to renew our passports online from this US State Department Passport webpage. (4) After printing off the renewal form (online renewal was not available at the time) we got our passport photos taken at a local camera shop and filled out the paperwork. You can choose different processing speeds. We chose Expedited, which is a step below Emergency but faster than regular processing. They recommend paying extra for Priority Express Mail delivery of your renewed passport. The fees I paid by enclosing a check totaled $209.53.
- Thursday, February 8th: We use Express Priority Mail to send our paperwork to the processing center. This includes our old passports. We are not going anywhere for a while.
- Saturday, February 11th. The expected delivery date of our Express Priority Mail envelope to the processing center. The expedited channel has its own post office box.
- Tuesday, February 14th. Our checks clear our checking account. We know they have arrived.
- Monday, March 6th: The online system showed our passport renewal is now in process! For almost three weeks previous we checked daily, but we did not show as being in the system. We knew our paperwork arrived because our checks were cashed.
- Wednesday, March 15th: The online automated system indicates our new passports are on the way!
- Thursday, March 16th: My wife’s new passport arrived by Express Priority mail.
- Friday, March 17th: My new passport arrived by Express Priority mail.
- Monday, March 27th: We each received our old passports back by regular mail (as expected). Although the front page has holes punched through, the inside pages where visas are pasted are still intact. Although we do not have answers yet, we assume we carry both our old and new passports when traveling to countries requiring a current visa for entry.
Here is the bottom line: Expedited delivery took five weeks from the time we put the forms in the mail until we received our new passports. It took about four weeks from the time our checks were cashed until the passports arrived. It took about 11 days from the time the online system said our applications were In Process until the time our new passports arrived.
I think that is pretty good service. We are now set for the next ten years!
- https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/six-month-validity-rule-for-us-passports.html
- https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/travel-to-schengen-countries.html
- https://visaguide.world/tips/passport-6-month-rule/
- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html
Cover photo: St Maartin Oyster Bay Photos ©Dennis Cox/WorldViews
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