Passport Replacement – Making Trip Preparation Quick And Easy
Traveling anywhere is a special occasion that shouldn’t be taken lightly. And it’s so much more than just going to a hotel and seeing the sights. It’s about living the life of the different people and experiencing what their culture is all about. This quality is really what makes traveling outside of the country important. Some people are afraid to take the initial step out of the country. It’s never to late to start if you have yet to try. Passport replacement can be done on the internet, and once you have a passport, you are set to travel.
Only those who already have a passport are eligible for passport replacement. There are a variety of circumstances that would necessitate a passport replacement, so we’ll take a look at the ones that apply to the most people, including one or more that might apply to you.
Passports have an expiration date, and for those who have passports past this date, a passport replacement is in order. It’s easy to tell if your passport is expired or not; there are some simple guidelines. First of all, child passports are only valid for 5 years. This includes anyone under the age of 18. For those 18 or older, those passports expire after 10 years. In this case, you don’t need to buy a brand new passport, you can just renew your current one. All you do is go online and fill out a form to have your passport renewed. If you happen to be older than 16 when your child passport expires, you need to apply for a new adult one.
Passports that have gone missing are another common factor for needed a passport replacement. It’s so easy to lose track of a passport, more so when you don’t travel very often. They can be dangerous, however, since so much of your identity lies in between a passports’ pages. If you’ve spend a good while trying to track down your passport and have turned up nothing, then you will need to cancel it and get a new passport. This is the same procedure for if your passport’s been stolen, which is explained next.
The worst case scenario is having your passport stolen, which can keep you from traveling or from even going home. However, there is a procedure to follow if you find yourself with a stolen passport either in the United States or overseas, a procedure that closely adheres to the general passport replacement process. Start by reporting your stolen passport. If you’re abroad, you would report to a United States embassy, one of which can be found in many major cities. If you’re in the US, report by calling the National Passport Information Center. They will have you answer some basic questions.
Online passport replacement is a simple electronic process. After you’ve reported your lost passport, all that’s left to do is apply for a new one. This can either be done in person or completely online. Remember, however, that keeping your passport secure is a big deal. It could potentially be very dangerous in another person’s hands. But things happen, so don’t panic if you lose your passport. US embassies and the State Department have handled uncountable cases like yours.