Hi there,
What happens if your passport becomes full when you are travelling and no longer has any space for stamps/visas. Is it just a case of finding your country consulate and getting more pages, is there a cost to do this, or do you have to buy a new passport and have them arrange this for you when you are on the road, what is the time that this usually takes? Has anyone had this happen to them?
Cheers
Reply to this You'd probably have to get a new passport, at the usual cost for someone whose passport has expired without being used up.
Although there is usually a more expensive 'express' service, you'd need to allow time to then go to relevant consulates to have any visas/entry permits/stamps that are current, added to the new passport.
I'd recommend checking ahead directly with the specific consulates/embassies though.
Reply to this If you are going to need a new passport while travelling, make sure your photos comply with the new rules. Not sending photos with the passport application that fit these requirements will delays things when you apply for a passport. And of course it would cause the expense of having to get the photos re-done and re-sending the application. It has something to do with being able to get bio information about you from your photo.
Reply to this if you can go to an embassy they will put in new pages for free. You can down load and application for additional pages from the US State Dept we site. Just be careful of mailing it in. Mine got lost so said the state department. And I had to buy a new one. But if you go in person they should be able to do it for you.
Reply to this Cheers. Im a brit so will look around for an application online for brits and then my embassy when im away if this happens
Reply to this British passports can't have pages added to them, you will have to get a new one. Our passports filled up about a year and a half ago, we just went to the nearest Consulate and they gave us the forms to fill out. Your only problem will be getting your photo verified - as we aren't married we could verify each other's.
It took two weeks for the new passport to be issued, if you want to fly anywhere domestically within the country you are in make sure the Consulate/Embassy gives you a notorised colour copy of your passport so the airlines will allow you to fly with this as your identification.
We opted for the jumbo 48 page passport and it cost us £144 each - it's roughly double to what it costs in the UK. We almost cried handing the money over but it's necessary for travelling!!!
Before you get your passport renewed make sure you check the website of the Embassy/Consulate you choose as some have to send the passports to other locations - eg Phnom Penh send to Bangkok - as not all Embassies and Consulates have the biometric technology yet.
Reply to this Donna and Neil,
Useful info, we have the same problem with our passports and will have to renew then here (in Vietnam). So what is the deal with the photos? I didn't realise you had to get them verified for a passport renewal. So since you aren't married, you can verify your own?
Did you have a visa in your passport? We are unclear whether we need to get another visa once we have a new passport. Our existing business visa expires in September, so should we wait until then to get another passport or is the visa still valid in your old passport?
Going to get the jumbo passports too. Kris's is only 3 years old and we need a new one already! Full of visas.
Ta
Kate
Reply to this With the photos - the back of them have to be signed by someone who knows you, saying it's a true likeness. If you are married you can't do this for each other but as we aren't married the Consul-General said there was no problem.
The country we were in gave a free 21 day entry stamp but we did have a visa extension which we had paid for stamped in there. When we exited we just showed both passports and this was good enough for the Immigration.
In theory you should be able to show your new and old passport together when entering/exiting a country if you have the visa in your old passport. We were told this would be ok for China but whether this would work for Vietnam we don't know - they may be fussy and stipulate that you have your visa transferred, but you should be able to get this done with no problem at the Immigration offices there. You would need to check with them in advance - the British Embassy will be able to advise as well.
It's such a problem with travelling long term especially when countries have a whole page visa stamp/sticker. Our passports have been valid since beginning of February 2008 and we have already used 18 pages...don't think we'll be getting the full 10 years use somehow!
Good luck with renewal, it is actually quite painless and the British Embassies/ Consulates are so helpful and great for having a chat with about their views of the country you are in...really interesting!
Reply to this Hi Kate,
I've got your answer for the visa. Have your new passport issue. If you leave the country, when you come back, go straight to the visa on arrival desk. They will isssue you a new "visa" with same validity as old one and charge you 10usd.
So if you don't go out, it even easier, when you renew your visa in Vietnam, it will simply go on the new passport, saving yourself 10usd.
China is way easier, they let you keep your visa in your old passport.
But you have to be careful! Once you have your new passport, make sure you keep your old passport. They will cancel it, but will not cut through the page that has the valid visa. I had to do this for my vietnam and my chinese visa. Better be careful as a little "manual cutting" mistake can happen very easily.
Hope this help,
Peter
Reply to this Thanks
We don't have to leave Vietnam to renew the visa, as we have a 6 month multiple entry business visa. When it expires, our employer sends off our passports to buy us a new one....
It sounds like the visa will be ok then. We will go to the British Embassy in Hanoi soon and get the process started.
Not only do Vietnam have a whole page visa, they use a double page. They stick the visa on one side, and then they stamp the middle of the next page. When you get the next visa they take another double page spread. It uses up your passport so much faster!
Thanks for your help.
Kate and Kris
Reply to this 
