[2006] Passport renewal time frame

[Maddle]

Briefly, do passport renewals get added on to the remaining life of the current passport?

My current passport will expire in March 2007. By September I will be within the six month time frame that some countries frown upon. Since I may (or may not) travel this fall, I will need to renew, and now is as good a time as any. Here is the question - since I have a full year left (that is already paid for,) will the 10 year validity add to that year (expiring in 2017) or will it only be good for 10 years from now, expiring in 2016?

I know it weems kind of silly, but I hate to give up a whole year. I hate to let my passport out of my hands (because you just never know when you might need an "emergency cruise" or trip - ha ha) I could wait until summer, and then only get burned for about 7 or 8 months. On the other hand, I don't want to wait, because I might forget, or it might take a long time Also, we might move this summer, and it might get misdirected in the transition. (But we are still waiting for orders, of course.)

Maddle

 

[ilisao]

Passport renewals do not add on remaining time. Your passport will valid from the time of renewal. I renewed my passport with about 8 months remaining and those 8 months most certainly were not added on. It took about 3-4 weeks for me to get it back which was VERY quick, IMO. If it is on your mind, do it now. You don't want to forget and have to expedite it like a friend of mine just did for her whole family. At an extra $60 a person, well, it was painful.

 

[somerville]

Maddle, The State Department is supposed to be coming out with new passport technology this year. The passports are supposed to have a chip in them that holds information. I wouldn't rush into getting a new passport until I knew when passports with the new technology will be issued.

 

[Keitht]

Passport renewals do not add on remaining time. Your passport will valid from the time of renewal.

Bear in mind that although the question is posed by a member in the USA, not all TUG members are American. In the UK, for example, a passport can be renewed in advance and the remaining time on the old passport (up to 12 months I believe) will be included. Therefore a new UK passport can be valid for 11 years.

 

[Maddle]

Thank you folks....and I guess I should have been more specific about my passport being a US issue. (Thank you Keith.)

Where can more information be found about this high tech passport and its estimated time of availability? and do I want such a thing anyway? (I don't even want an E-Z Pass....but that is for another thread.) Is it likely to come out in the next six months or so? Will people be required to update? Is it different from the bar code that they are using now?

And now for a moment of editorializing.....why do we have ten year passports that are unacceptable after 9.5 years? And why can't we accomodate that by the passport extension that Keith says is available in the UK. Granted, if I leave now, and stay late, if might be good enough to get me back home....but if I am staying anywhere that long, I would probably have to pay for a Visa anyway.

 

[judy.f]

US passports are valid for ten years as far as the US is concerned. Other countries, however, have their own requirements, one of them often being that a visitor's passport be vald for x amount of time. Nothing we can do about that, unfortunately!

And now for a moment of editorializing.....why do we have ten year passports that are unacceptable after 9.5 years? And why can't we accomodate that by the passport extension that Keith says is available in the UK. Granted, if I leave now, and stay late, if might be good enough to get me back home....but if I am staying anywhere that long, I would probably have to pay for a Visa anyway.

I lost a year and a half on my previous passport - I had renewed a year before I got married and (after travelling for three more years in my maiden name) finally got around to sending it off to be amended. After September 11, especially, travelling with a name-amended passport was a complete pain in the a** since the name amendment is on the back page, at which no one ever looks, so there was always a big to-do about the name on the passport not matching the name on the reservation. The loss of the 18 months' validity was the price I had to pay to make my life easier!

 

[debraxh]

IIRC, it's the country you visit which requires your passport to be valid for a specific period of time when you enter, not the US, and there are different time periods for different countries.

 

[Maddle]

I will just bite the bullet, of course, but it still seems cheesy to me that they can't add the time on. Yes, I understand that it is OTHER countries that are not accepting the nearly expired passport, but it is the US that is collecting the fees from me. Keith just pointed out that the UK can accomodate this with early renewals that extend the life of the passport.

Maddle

 

[somerville]

Read an article today that said they will start issuing the new technology passports to the general public this summer.

 

[Dave M]

From the U.S. State Department:

On December 30, 2005, the United States began to issue Electronic Passports. It is anticipated that all new full validity U.S. passports will be issued as electronic passports by the end of 2006.

 

[rsonc]

My friend applied and it took 12 weeks to get her's back. The passport office said more people are sending them in now because of the new deadline.
Susan

 

[somerville]

From Government Computer News 2/27/06:

"The State Department started pilot production of electronic passports earlier this month and plans to roll out e-passports for the general public this summer, officials said."

 

[falmouth3]

I sent mine in for renewal the middle of June, 2009. The new one arrived in about 3 weeks.

Sue

 

[ScoopKona]

I renewed in 2009. It took about three weeks.

 

[DeniseM]

Please note that this is a 2006 thread that was brought out of mothballs by a spammer.

 

[hajjah]

I barely made it to St. Maarten last week waiting for my Passport to arrive. I was told by a few people that the Passport would only take a few weeks. Well, that meant four weeks for me. I mailed the Passport back for renewal on June 12 and did not receive the new one until July 17, the day before my flight to the Caribbean. That was too close for comfort. I was so sorry that I hadn't included the extra money to expedite the paperwork. What a big mistake that nearly cost me a trip. If you need a Passport, give yourself sufficient time.