What Are Second Valid Passports?

Second valid passports are limited-validity US passports that are issued to qualified applicants. They are valid for four years instead of ten.

Your second valid passport won’t be a copy of your primary (ten years) passport. It will have a different passport number and a different photograph.

How Can Frequent Travelers Qualify for Second Valid Passports?

In order to apply for a second valid passport, you’ll need to be in one of the following travel situations:

• You need to apply for a visa for a future trip, but you need your passport for other international travel. For instance, you might have a business trip to Brazil planned for the beginning of June, but other business trips to France and Switzerland in April and May. You’ll need a passport for your trips to Europe, at the same time that your passport needs to be at a Brazilian consulate getting a Brazil visa! A second valid passport will let you travel and get visas at the same time.
• You have Israel stamps in your passport, and you plan to visit a country that won’t allow you to enter if your passport has those markings. For instance, you might be planning to tour Iran, but your passport has stamps from last year’s trip to Jerusalem. You can get a second valid passport to use for your Iran trip.

Other Advantages of Second Valid Passports for Jetsetters

It’s pretty cool that a second valid passport will let you keep traveling while you are getting visas. But there are other advantages of second valid passports for globetrotters!

• Extra pages. Now that the government won’t add pages to valid passports any longer, blank passport pages are a valuable commodity to frequent travelers. If you have two passports, that means you automatically have twice as many blank passport pages to fill!
• Protection against passport loss or theft. If one of your passports is lost or stolen, you still have another valid passport for emergency travel purposes. Your other passport will also be a valuable proof of your identity and citizenship to help you replace your lost passport.

Before you jet off on your next trip, contact G3 to get your second valid passport!

The post Second Valid Passports – A Jetsetter’s Best Friend appeared first on G3Passports.

Those days are over, my friends.

The US State Department stopped offering additional passport pages service on December 31, 2015.  Now, if you run out of blank passport pages, you need to apply for a passport renewal.

Understanding the Different Types of Passport Pages

The standard US passport book contains 28 pages.  They’re not all the same, though!

• Pages 1-7 are information pages. The first few pages are pre-printed with information by the State Department. Most of these pages are basic information about your passport and international travel.  The most important of these pages is page 2, the personal data page.  This is where your photo, name, and other personal information is printed.  Page 3, directly adjacent the personal data page, is where you will sign your passport.
• Pages 8-24 are visa pages. When we talk about “blank passport pages,” we are talking about these pages.  You’ll see the word “Visas” printed at the top of the page.  These pages are meant for all of the entry and exit stamps you’ll collect as you travel.  If you need to get any visas for your trips, they will be placed on these pages.
• Pages 25-28 are endorsement pages. These pages are marked “Endorsements/Mentions Speciales/Anotaciones.”  Endorsement pages are meant for the use of the US State Department only.   If there are any special conditions to your passport, or amendments made to your passport, the State Department will print them there.  For instance, if get a new passport after your passport is lost, one of the endorsement pages may state “this passport is a replacement for a lost or stolen passport.”

Why Is It Important to Have Blank Visa Pages?

Every time you travel internationally, your destination country will stamp your passport with an entry stamp and an exit stamp.  You’ll need to have at least one blank page available for every country you visit.

If you need to get a travel visa for your trip, most countries require that you have two blank pages available – one for your visa, and one for your entry and exit stamps.

Some countries have even more restrictive requirements for blank passport pages.  South Africa, for instance, does not require visas for US citizens to visit.  However, you do need to have two blank passport pages side-by-side to be allowed entry.  You’ll need two blank pages for every entry, so even if you make a day trip into a neighboring country, you’d need another set of blank pages when you return to South Africa!

Get Extra Blank Passport Pages When You Renew

If you need to renew your passport early because you have run out of blank pages in your passport, you’re probably the type of traveler who could benefit from an extra-large passport.  The good news is that the US State Department offers “non-standard” 52-page passport books at no extra charge!  All you have to do is check the box on your passport application that you want the large book.  They are available at the discretion of the Passport Agency, which may have limited stocks of the large books, so a regular size book may be substituted in some cases.

As you prep for your holiday travel, make sure to flip through your passport and check to see how many blank passport pages you have.  Running low? Apply online for a renewal today!

The post Running Out of Passport Pages? Renew Your Passport! appeared first on G3Passports.