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What are the fastest ways to renew my passport and travel abroad?
Here’s how you can get your passport renewed and get on your holidays as soon as possible.
Getting a passport can be tricky business, wherever you may be located in the world. Red tape, printing off documents and cutting out your passport-size photos is the height of modern fiddly bureaucracy, and it can drive us all up the wall.
However, throwing your phone at the wall after fighting with the automated voice and repeating your phone number again is not the only way. There is indeed other ways of getting your passport quickly enough to not cause stress, so you can fly away happily on your jolly holidays.
Before travelling, it may be helpful to know if you need to renew your passport or get a new one altogether. According to the official site, here’s when you need to get a new document:
If any of the following are true, you cannot renew your U.S. passport and must instead apply for a new passport in person using Form DS-11:
Issued before your 16th birthday
Issued more than 15 years ago
Damaged, lost, or stolen. Learn how to report a lost or stolen passport.
Issued in your previous name, and you do not have a legal document like a marriage license to prove your legal name change
If none of the above situations are true, you can renew your U.S. passport.
They add on the US government website that “you can renew an expired passport, but only if it was issued within the last 15 years.”
As for how long a normal passport takes, there are four levels of speed for renewing:
Life or death:
You may qualify for a life-or-death emergency appointment if you need to travel to a foreign country in the next 14 days because your immediate family member outside of the United States:
- Has died, or
- Is dying (hospice care), or
- Has a life-threatening illness or injury
Urgent:
Choose this service if you are traveling in less than 2-3 weeks.
Because the total time to get a passport includes processing and mailing times, we do not recommend you mail your application or apply at an acceptance facility if you are traveling in less than 2-3 weeks.
Make an appointment at a passport agency or center when you are within 14 calendar days of your international travel date, or 28 days if you need a foreign visa.
Expedited:
Choose this service if you are traveling in less than 8 weeks from the date you submit your application.
Expedited service takes 2-3 weeks and does not include mailing times. Mailing times may add 2 weeks on to the total time to get your passport.
Routine:
Choose this service if you are traveling over 8 weeks from the date you submit your application.
Routine service takes 6-8 weeks and does not include mailing times. Mailing times may add 2 weeks on to the total time to get your passport.
As well as the four types of appointment, you can also choose express delivery. You can pay for Priority Mail Express for faster shipping when Delivering the application to the government: the price for this service varies depending on the area of the country.
When returning the passport, you can pay $21.36 for 1-2 day delivery. You must include this fee with your check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of State and must not submit a return envelope to us with postage pre-paid. The 1-2 day delivery services are not applicable if you only applied for a passport card.
Can I renew my passport online?
However, aside from this, you can now renew online, meaning that adults 25 or older who have had a U.S. passport before no longer have to fill out a paper application, mail a check, or make an appointment.
These are the requirements to renew online:
-- Be U.S. citizens and residents ages 25 and older who have already had an existing passport for 10 years; the passport must still be in the applicant’s possession (and not previously reported lost or stolen. It can, however, be expired.)
-- Not be changing their name, gender, date of birth or place of birth for the new passport.
-- Live in a U.S. state or territory.
-- Be applying for a regular tourist passport.
-- Be able to upload a recent digital photo.
-- Be able to pay the renewal fee online with either a debit or credit card.
We expect 5 million Americans to be able to use this every year. It is for people who can renew their passport. They’ve had an adult passport, that has expired within the last 5 years or will expire in the coming year,” Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs told ABC News.
In order to do so, you must apply online, upload a photo, submit your old passport details and add any upcoming travel information. This process, both online and via mail can take 6-8 weeks, not including postage times.