Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with passport

Gettin' Outta Dodge...

jara1953 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:17:48 -0800

Hellllllp !No passports. Quick getaway to a sunny, quiet beach for a frazzled, stressed, tired 50's couple next week. GF an I want to split from NYC for 5-7 days. Too much information on the google and this is close on the green, : http://ask.metafilter.com/140953/Where-to-go-for-a-short-vacation-in-the-Caribbean. Thanks.

How do I obtain a certified copy of my Canadian passport?

tickingclock — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:29:47 -0800

How do I obtain a certified copy of my Canadian passport? I am applying for a scholarship which asks that I provide proof of my Canadian citizenship. According to the scholarship website, this is what is required:

one certified copy of the following: birth certificate, citizenship card or passport (do not include original documents). A certificate of baptism is not accepted as proof of Canadian citizenship. Photocopies of "certified copies" cannot be accepted.

What does this mean? Does the passport office offer services for obtaining a certified copy?

After some Googling, I discovered that there is a company called Red Seal Notary that seems to offer a relevant service. Is this what the scholarship website means by a certified copy?

I did find this previous AskMe, but the question was for the UK and I wanted to post a separate question for Canada, just in case.

Thanks in advance!

Honesty vs sentimentality: should I return my old, old passport.

BrokenEnglish — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:47:47 -0800

UKPassportFilter: I have a passport from 1988 which has expired, but which I want to keep. Should I declare it on the form for my new passport application, or just keep quiet and hope it goes unnoticed? The old passport has sentimental value since it has pictures of me and my wife only a short time after we were married. We do look almost embarrassingly young :) I have hair and everything ...

If I don't declare it, is officialdom likely to notice or check back that far (more than 20 years)? OR is there a way to 'fess up to it but ask to be allowed to keep it?

It's an old-fashioned one year passport of a kind which isn't issued any more, so I don't know if officialdom would even be interested. (You get 10 year ones now, and you can't get joint passports, you have to have one each.)

Proof of Irish citizenship for someone born, adopted in 1880s?

zippy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:01:54 -0800

Is this possible to search for (or prove the absence of) my Grandmother's Irish birth certificate and Irish citizenship from the comfort of my own armchair in the US, ideally inexpensively? My grandmother was born in 1883 to Irish parents, possibly in Limerick, possibly in Rhode Island (US).

I would like to know for certain whether she was born in Ireland and was an Irish citizen to satisfy the "yes, you can be a citizen if your grandparent was" Irish citizenship clause.

In other words I would like to track down my grandmother's "full civil birth certificate if born after 1864..."

Possible confounding factor - when she was a young girl (age 7 or so) her family put her up for adoption in the US. I do have her birth parents' names.

I could travel to Ireland and do this search in person at the General Register Office but this office doesn't appear to offer an option where I can do the search on-line or commission them to look someone up.

I presume that if I found a birth certificate for her in Rhode Island, this would confirm she was not born in Ireland, though I do not know if this was the case for registration and citizenship at the time. Consider this a bonus sub-question - would a Rhode Island birth cert. negate the whole Irish thing for someone in the late 1800s?

Do I try to fly home just for a funeral?

vickyverky — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:58:13 -0800

Should I try to overcome a series of practical obstacles so I can fly to the funeral of a longtime friend? Or just send regrets? I found out today that a dear longtime friend (a substitute grandfather/mentor figure, really) died late last week. His daughter, who is also a good friend, offered to reimburse me for the plane ticket if I come to the funeral, which is about two weeks from today. (I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area; they are in London.)

My immediate thought was that I wanted to be there (I've known him since I was very small, and he has always been a kind, wise influence in my life). However, there are several obstacles. It will be hard to get more than a week off work; I'm at a particularly brutal point at grad school; I'm a nervous flier; and (the capper) my passport has expired.

Realistically, it's probably a no. But I'm still considering it -- for now. Could I even get my passport renewed that fast? (I've looked at the British Consulate's website, but it seems to be pretty vague about the expedited fee process. I'm planning to visit the S.F. consulate in person if I can get through on the helpline tomorrow.) Has anyone else had to do this in a hurry for a family emergency?

I know that funerals are for the living, and that my friend won't be there, except in spirit. But I think I'd get great comfort out of being part of the ceremony to send him off. (The family is hiring a Routemaster bus to drive around his favourite parts of London before the service!) I can do the flight on Xanax and gin. I could hit the ground running, and see as many people as I could fit into a week's visit around the funeral. It would be mad, and sad, and busy. But it would also be unforgettable.

If I don't go, his daughter says she'll read out a letter, reminiscences, or whatever I want to send her at the service. She won't be offended or upset if I don't go -- she just knows how much her dad meant to me.

I'd appreciate any practical answers, as well as hearing stories of whether you've decided to do something similar.

Last minute advice for solo trip to Paris?

cider — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:21:50 -0800

I'm heading off to Paris for four days, and I'm starting to get a bit nervous that I'll forget something important. I've never been to Paris, and I haven't been to Europe for fifteen years. I'll be staying by myself in a hotel in Arondissement 7. I'm wondering if you can help me out with any last-minute tips or things I'm likely to have forgotten. Here are the types of questions that I suddenly find myself asking:

Will I need an adapter of some sort in order to charge my camera or ipod?

Am I required to carry my passport with me, and if so, should I get some sort of money belt? (I believe my hotel room has a safe deposit box -- is it better to leave it there?)

I'm assuming that I can get Euros out of a bank machine with my regular (Bank of America) card. (That's what I did in Germany years ago.) Is this true?

Will I generally be safe walking around at night? I'm a woman who will be travelling by herself; are there areas I should avoid?

I hate not having access to internet in case I want to look up directions, print tickets, or other computer-based tasks. I have an iPod touch -- is there likely to be free wi-fi around? Are internet cafes common in Paris?

Is there anything else that I'm forgetting?

Thanks so much!

Will I have trouble flying under my old name?

pantheON — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:08:27 -0800

I have a new name. My passport is in my old name. I've booked a flight under my old name. Will I have trouble traveling? Say my name used to be "John Smith". Also say that I recently changed my name to "James John Smith". I have a valid Canadian passport in the name of John Smith. I have booked a ticket in the name of John Smith for travel from Toronto to London, England and back. Will I run into any trouble?

I'm guessing I'll be fine because the ticket and the passport are in the same name, notwithstanding the fact that my full legal name is now slightly different. Just looking for some reassurance. I am traveling the last week in October and do not have time to apply for a new passport.

Passport to nowhere

prufrock — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:18:38 -0800

UnitedStatesIDfilter: I've damaged my passport which was my only means of identification. Replacement takes around 6 weeks. Is there any state-approved ID I can get(for domestic travel, immediately) that will not involve using this passport as a required document. I'm a non-resident alien on an H1B visa. I'm in Massachusetts.

I have an old passport that is expired but in perfect condition. Can I use them in conjunction somehow to make one valid document? The extent of the damage, by the way, is such that every bit of text is legible, the cover is a bit frayed...but the photo is totally obscured.

Renew now or later?

hiteleven — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:55:35 -0800

Possibly studying in the U.K. in September 2010, E.U. passport expires in Sept. 2011. Do I need to renew now? Yes, I know I am throwing out dates that are far in the future, but I have a lot of planning to do and I need to get things right.

So basically I am considering entering a 3-year PhD program in the U.K. Assuming I get in to my school(s) of choice, and get the necessary funding, I'm in, though things are far from certain.

I am an Irish citizen, and hold a passport that expires in Sept. 2011. If I get in to school, I'll be entering the U.K. a year earlier.

I know that most E.U. countries will let you in on a valid passport no matter what the expiry date, but I wanted to make sure that this applies to the always-stricter United Kingdom. I also wanted to make sure that it was all right that my passport expired before my 3-year school stay was up (of course I'll renew when I'm there).

If you don't know the answer, perhaps you could point me in the right direction in terms of contracting the proper officials. And please no "you better renew your passport just in case" replies, unless you know that I really have to renew -- I'd rather not add more to my already lengthy to-do list, especially for something that's still in the realm of the hypothetical.

How can I look semi-human in a passport photo?

tavegyl — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:11:08 -0800

How can I look like the babe I am in my next passport-sized photograph? I just had a passport-sized photo taken. It was taken by a bored gentleman at a government office who was hired for his admirable form-filling technique, not his photographic skills. This photograph will stare balefully from my wallet for the next few years.

Given the conditions of your average government photography outfit, what precautions can I take next time to avoid looking like a hungover dope fiend with far more ape in my recent ancestry than is appropriate?

The basic restrictions are: full face, no smile, ears showing, flourescent lighting, no special equipment and no second takes.

I'm looking for all sorts of advice, from photographers and people who photograph well.

All kinds of suggestions are welcome. Light makeup, if so what sort? (For what it's worth I have medium brown South Asian skin and strong features). Think happy thoughts? Think abstruse thoughts? Hair up or down? Dark clothing or light? Jewellery or no? Butt clench? Anime style wide-open eyes, or sultry drooping lids? Slap my cheeks before the photo? Look pale and interesting? Last minute checks I should make whilst in the waiting room? Etc.

Gotta get back.

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:40:57 -0800

I need to return to Poland, but I don't know if I can. Visa issues. I moved to Poland in April, because I wanted to learn the language and I had a good friend I wanted to visit. I'm a US citizen, so I didn't need a visa.

I stayed in Poland for four months. At the time, someone had told me if I leave Schengen before three months I could return and stay another three months. (I now understand this to be incorrect.) So I went to the Ukraine for a weekend and came back.

I flew back to the States last week to spend three weeks with my family. When I went through passport control in Zurich, the agent was furious, and said I had stayed too long. I told her I went to the Ukraine. She said I had no stamps of my time there - it was true.

It turns out that the border guards in the Ukraine neglected to stamp my passport, although I did have the exist and entry stamps from the Polish side of the border from that visit. The agent in Zurich called a higher-up and decided to let me continue on my journey, and said next time to make sure I've been stamped. I don't know if this has a permanent effect on my ability to enter Schengen again, or not.

Two months ago I bought a ticket to return to Poland from the States. I arrive on September 5th and fly out on December 15th, which is 101 days.

Only now have I realized that this is illegal, even if I hop over to Russia in November. I'm in a bit of a panic now, because I have a life in Poland - I have a girlfriend, close friends, and an apartment. When I arrive in Zurich again (I'm flying through the same airport again!) I worry that they will deport me, fine me, and maybe ban me from the Schengen zone.

I realize now that I should have gone for a visa while I was there; a residency, student, or some sort of visa. I am studying Polish, so it's possible I could attempt some kind of student visa.

Is there anything I can do? Is there an additional visa I can pay for? I want to be back there legally. I could wait a couple more months but I need to be back there as soon as possible, as my life is there. Do I have any options besides waiting?

I'm trying to contact the embassy but I thought I would ask the hivemind as well, since I'm starting to really get worried.

I need a visa for China asap...am I screwed?

dawson — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:00:56 -0800

I messed up big time here...I have my passport and ticket ready to fly to China on September 15th. I do not have a visa. I am confounded by all the websites and busy lines and non-returned calls.
Apparently my reading comprehension is slipping because I can make no sense of the information I do find.
Making things even more pathetic, I have been to China many times before and handled it with relative ease.
So. I am now in Southern California. But my residency is, I suppose, in SC. Or Maryland. I get mail at three locations. My driver license is a CA one. I have lived in SoCal about 2 months. I do not consider myself a resident. How do I find out what embassy I am even supposed to go to? Is it remotely possible to get the visa in 3 weeks from tomorrow? Would you recommend I pay a third party to do this?
I'm a deer in the headlights here, frozen by my own ineptness. Can you help?
I will be going out shortly, but will return to answer any question that I may not have addressed.

One passport, freshly washed

Alterscape — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:53:40 -0800

I just put my (non-RFID, US) passport through the laundry. It's soggy, wrinkly, and the cover is no longer stiff, but everything's still legible. I'm planning to travel to Beijing for about a week in October. Do I need to be panicking about getting it replaced?

I like Jameson's, isn't that enough?

lazywhinerkid — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:26:16 -0800

Can I get an Irish passport? (complications inside) This question got me wondering if I can get an Irish passport. I have a few friends who have been successful based on the fact that their grandparents were born in Ireland. I think I may be able to as well, but there are a couple complicating factors.

1. I'm adopted: the Irish in me comes from my birth mother's family. I have documentation, etc. which shows my change of names and uh, owners I guess you could say.

2. My birth grandfather was born in Armagh, which is in Northern Ireland, but in the link above it says that anyone "born on the island of Ireland" before 2005 is eligible for Irish citizenship. I guess that includes him?

I definitely plan to ring the nearest consulate but would like to try and have an informed conversation! Thanks so much.

Passport troubles

Tiresias — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:03:51 -0800

Possible passport problem while catching a connecting flight in Shanghai I am a Canadian citizen currently residing in Japan. Time to go home! My passport is set to expire August 6th, so I booked a flight back to Canada on August 4th. Unfortunately, that flight connects through Shanghai --- and I just realized last night that it may be a problem to connect through China using a passport set to expire in two days.

The Canadian embassy has not been helpful, except to tell me that there is no way they can issue a temporary extension.

So, I have two questions:

1) Can I connect through Shanghai on a passport set to expire in two days? I will be in the airport for less than 24 hours.

2) I am a dual citizen and currently hold an Italian passport. Could I possibly leave Japan on my Canadian passport (I need to, for visa reasons) and then enter China on my Italian passport, which is valid for another few years?

Any information you have will be helpful, because I am utterly, utterly freaking out right now.

How can my parents protect themselves from RFID stripping?

SpecialK — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:45:50 -0800

RFID, Security FUD, and the new US passports: My retirement-age parents are paranoid about carrying RFID enabled cards and being tracked, stripped, and having their identities stolen. The mass media sources they read (MSNBC, USA Today, et al) are inundated with sensational conspiracy stories. Besides "don't carry it," what advice can I give them? From what I know about Faraday Cages, they need to be grounded and energized to be fully effective against a targeted pulse -- otherwise they can act as either a slight damper or even an amplifying antenna. My understanding is that using the RFID equivalent a shotgun mic, it's possible to overcome the foil that's built into the current US RFID passport even at a range of several dozen feet.

They have been victims of identity theft in the past, and it dropped their FICO score and caused them a ton of grief. I'm trying to save them the grief of paying for metallic space alien metal tinfoil bags and then having it happen to them anyway.

Also, I'm fully cognizant that the largest risk is that someone will knock them over the head and take it anyway. But I'm trying to bring them back down to earth so that they stop being afraid of the technology and just take normal security precautions.

Can my wife travel with a passport under her maiden name?

jackypaper — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:04:58 -0800

Passport Question: My wife and I were married in May. All of her documents now reflect her name change, with the exception of her passport, which still bears her maiden name. Will we experience any difficulties at customs while traveling abroad in July? Will it be sufficient to come armed with our marriage certificate to prove she is who she claims to be? Thanks!

is a name-changed passport blank?

karl88 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:22:26 -0800

when you change your name, and send in for a new passport, do they send you a completely new passport with no stamps in it? do you get the old one back? or do they insert a new identity page? it would be a shame to lose all the stamps and used visa's in my current passport....

What does writing a sponsor letter for someone to visit the US entail?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:27:34 -0800

What does writing a sponsor letter for someone to visit the US entail? I have a friend in Nepal who wants to come to the US for a few months and is asking for a sponsor letter. I imagine this letter is much more that just a "hey Unca Sam, he's a heck of a guy, let him in" kind of thing.

As sponsor letter writer, what would I be responsible for? Food, lodging, health care, etc? Are there certain amounts—does money need to be put in a trust or something? Do I have to go through an interview process?

As a side-note, my friend has travelled to France in the past, so this would not be his first trip abroad, although it would be his first to the US. Also, he has a wife and child in Nepal, so I'm thinking the border people would be less inclined to think he was going to drop off the radar or something and stay here forever. My friend is about 30 years old.

If I am unable to meet the requirements (cash or whatever), are there groups out there that help match potential visitors with people who'd like to sponsor them? (or perhaps if groups like these existed, they would quickly be overwhelmed with requests)

I'll keep an eye on this thread, but you can also contact me via anonyaskmefi@gmail.com

Does an Irish citizen need a passport to travel to Spain?

aelish — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:11:16 -0800

Does an EU citizen need a passport to travel between EU countries? The BF and I are planning a trip to Spain in late July. He has an expired Irish passport (yes he's a twit). He has a driver's license, but not a national ID card that I know of. Will he need a passport to go between the UK (he lives in Northern Ireland) and Spain? If he can't get his passport renewed before we travel, will his license be enough ID?

Also, how long does it take to get a passport renewed in Ireland?

thanks

Place in NYC to get passport photo taken per Canadian specifications

peacheater — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:56:50 -0800

Where in NYC can I get passport photos taken as per Canadian visitor's visa requirements? I'm having an incredibly tough time getting passport photos taken as per Canadian requirements for a Temporary Resident visa (Appendix B in this pdf). I'm in Ithaca, NY and none of the photo places here can do it. At one place they informed me that they used to do it but since Canada switched over to using biometry they started getting 95 % of photos rejected and angry clients complaining, so they just don't want the hassle any more. They asked me to try epassportphoto.com which appears to allow you to pick up photos from Walgreen's with a day's processing so that would be one option. However I would feel much more comfortable using an in-person professional who knew what they were doing.
So I'll be traveling to NYC on Wed, reaching there around 5 pm. I need to get to the Canadian consulate around 8 the next morning so it would be awesome if there was a place I could get this done before that. UES (where I'll be staying) or Avenue of the Americas (where the consulate is) would be preferred, though please let me know if you have any suggestions in other locations also. If I'm unable to get the visa done on Thursday, I can stay another day and try again on Friday, so don't limit yourself to 24-hr places alone. Thanks!

Expedite Passport Problem [US]

mattsweaters — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:01:04 -0800

Expedite Passport Problem [US] I applied for an expedited passport about a month ago...but with the backlog it looks like it may not come by next week [when I have tickets to leave]

Do I have any options? Or am I just hoping that it works out?

Road trip USA for Aussie noob

b33j — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:09:17 -0800

International Travel novice: What do I need to know that I don't know that I don't know? I'm Australian (from warm Queensland), meeting a friend from the Netherlands in the USA (Florida) in February 2010 for a two month road trip that will go through Canada (via Texas, California, Washington and many other places - itinerary mostly not set in stone yet) with the aim to concentrate on mutual internet friends, natural beauty and historical places. Tourist attractions (like Disneyland), not so much.

I know that I need airline tickets (but when do I book?) and a passport (what about visas?). What else do I need to know? Tips on packing (buy my winter stuff there?), on flight luggage, changing currency, paying for things over there (travellers cheques? Will my debit card work? What about my Mastercard? Will I have to pay fees for exchange of currency?). How much will it cost? How much would you set aside per day for living expenses if you were doing it cheap? What about powering my battery charger for my camera - should I be the converter here or there? Storage for my photos?

What should I have asked in this question that I didn't think to ask? Books and websites much appreciated as well as personal anecdotes.

How do I relinquish my Brazilian citizenship?

cheechman85 — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:42:11 -0800

How long will it take to relinquish my Brazilian citizenship? The story is the following: I am planning a trip to Brazil in July. I have, since birth, held dual citizenship (USA, BRAZIL). I have always traveled to Brazil this way, using my Brazilian passport to enter Brazil and my USA passport on my return trip with no problems what so ever. But, now, since I am over 18, I am worried about Brazil asking me to serve the 1 year military service. If I enter Brazil using the Brazilian passport they may ask me to do so.

So now, I have decided to enter the country using a Visa. Obviously I am unable to hold Brazilian citizenship and get a visa to enter the country. So I must relinquish my Brazilian citizenship. Does anybody know how long this will take and how to go about it? Or have any other suggestions/ input?
Thanks in advance.

Passport complications.

alexei — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:07:44 -0800

I have jumped on an opportunity to take a vacation on the sunny beaches of Australia (insert mixup of seasons joke here). I am leaving in three weeks, and staying for six. However, I have run into a problem: my American passport expires two weeks before I return (though after I leave). Now, I could pay the extra $60 + shipping for expedited service and hopefully get it back before I leave, or go for the in-person service which is presumably even more complicated and expensive. However, since I also have an EU passport, and can use it while in Australia, I only need the American passport to return home in nine weeks.

1) Will leaving the country be a problem with a soon-to-expire American passport? I know they check your passport, but it is generally perfunctory, and only checks for validity, right? Can I leave with only the EU passport, if the American one is still in the mail?
2) If I return with an expired passport, what sort of trouble am I liable to encounter? This says none, this says $100 worth, although neither source is authoritative, and most other sources are vaguely gloomy at the prospect. I know that entering on a foreign passport, even with a valid visa, is considered Very Bad.

As I see it, I can either
I) delay renewing the passport and travel anyway, dealing with expired passport issues on my return, or
II) send in my passport for renewal, running the risk of not having it at all on my departure (although it could be mailed to me later, before my return). If leaving the country is not a problem, I would skip the expedited service and have it mailed to me in Australia, especially since it seems many people report fast turnarounds, and I might get it within three weeks anyway.

3) Any Melbournians for a meetup in may?

Reference