What Should You Do With An Expired Passport?

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Passports, unlike birth certificates, are not issued to a person by their country’s government automatically. To get one, you’ll need to contact the appropriate government office in your nation and apply for one. Another distinction is that a passport is only valid for a specific length of time, usually five or ten years, and will eventually expire if the possessor does not renew it.

After your passport expires, it is not a good idea to travel internationally: Even if it is permitted in some nations, it is usually accompanied by a letter of support. Even after receiving a new passport, there’s always the issue of what to do with your old, expired one?

A discarded passport may seem pointless to some, but there are a number of uses for old passports that may outweigh the cost of discarding them completely. What to do with an expired passport and whether or not you should keep it can be seen below.

1. Your expired Passport is still a proof of your identity:

In the event that your passport is no longer valid, it will still serve as a travel document that proves your identity and nationality. Regardless Even if it’s out of date, it’s still an official document from the government of your country. Details of your previous Passport will be included in your current Passport when it is issued. As a result, your passport will never be revoked and will continue to serve as a permanent record of your identity.

You’ve already gone through a slew of red tape to obtain your passport in the first place. The Chamber of Commerce must get a copy of your birth certificate, social security card, and driver’s licence.

Even if your passport has expired, you can still prove your identity with the information on it. If you’ve misplaced your driver’s licence, you can show the Motor Vehicle Department your passport as identification. Because you already filed the necessary paperwork to obtain the passport, you may be able to save some time at the DMV. As a result, you’ll have a new driver’s licence in your hands much sooner.

2. Your expired Passport contains valid Visas:

It is possible that the visas in your old passport are still valid if you are a regular traveller. The renewal of your passport necessitates the renewal of your visas in numerous countries. Some countries, however, allow you to travel using the same visa that you had on your old passport. If your previous passport has expired and you get a new one, your visa will remain valid as long as your personal information and nationality have not changed. Using your new passport, you can travel with your old passport and a valid visa.

A number of nations that offer long-term multiple-entry visas have particular rules that may allow you to utilise the visa in your previous passports. In the case of US visas, they are valid for ten (10) years and allow for repeated entries. Your US visa will remain valid until the day it expires, regardless of whether your passport has been renewed. Just be sure to travel with two passports – your new one and the old one with the US visa.

3. Your expired Passport is a proof of your travel history:

Your travel history is considered as the most important element for approving visas. A When you apply for a visa to any country, the visa officer will verify your travel history, and there’s no better way to establish that you’ve been abroad than by showing your old passport, which has the entry and exit stamps of all the countries you’ve visited.

Even when applying for a job that requires background checks that include travel history, it’s nearly impossible to remember when and where you’ve been without your old passport and the stamps in it, unless you’re confident that you remember every trip with dates or that you haven’t travelled at all. If possible, bring your old or expired passport with you so that you can accurately describe your travels.

4. Your expired Passport is a mandate document for your visa application:

When applying for a visa, you may be required to provide additional documentation, including your former passport (if applicable). This is required to verify that the applicant has recently gone to the country in question. A copy of the prior passport, visa, and entry record is necessary if the utilised visa of that nation is in a previous passport. Assuming the prior passport is no longer available, the applicant must write an explanation letter to the Embassy/Consulate stating what happened to his/her previous passport. Isn’t it a painstaking procedure? Keep your old passport safe and use it when you need a visa instead of going through the effort of renewing it.

5. Your Old Passport serves as memories of all your travel:

For many people, their passport is a cherished memento of their travels throughout the world and the people they have met. In a way, it’s still like having a time capsule that allows you to go back to the locations you’ve been and relive the wonderful experiences you made there. Many people save their old passports as a memento of their travels for this precise reason. Keep yours close at hand! It appears to be full of memories as well.

Losing a passport is always heartbreaking! Every visa, every stamp, and every page on your passport is a record of your life’s adventure. Consider keeping your passport as a reminder of all the places you’ve been.

Tip: Do not throw it away

The validity of a U.S. passport, whether it is a book or a new style card, is capped at ten years. To ensure your identification, you must include a copy of your current passport with your application for a new U.S. passport. In addition to your new passport, it will be sent to you. Passports that have expired, whether they belong to the owner or a deceased family member, might be kept as a keepsake or thrown away. Shredding cancelled passports is the quickest and safest way to get rid of them.

You can use scissors to cut off the biometric page from your passport. Only on this document, which has been laminated, will you find any of your private information. This page contains personal information that could be used by criminals to steal your identity or fake a passport or other document in your name.

Shredders are easy to use. Allow a sufficient amount of time to pass before pressing the machine’s motion sensor to begin cutting.

One by one, remove each remaining passport page and put it into the shredder until the book is completely shredded.

Open the shredder’s paper container and make sure the passport is disassembled and cannot be reassembled. If you only perforated the pages with your shredder, you’ll have to try again. Look for separated strips.

Some people choose to merely destroy the biometric page of their passport and keep the rest of the book as a memento of their travels.

If the passport is placed in a campfire or burning, the biometric page will be destroyed. This is also a good option if you don’t have access to a shredder for getting rid of outdated passports.

Passports should never be thrown away. Even if it has been revoked by the government, thieves may still be able to use it to commit fraud or identity theft.

Keep your passport safe until it has been cancelled by the government. In order to get a new passport, even if your current one has expired, you may need to bring it in.

Shredder blades can be dangerous, so keep your fingers away from them.

Can you sell an expired passport legally?

Your previous passport has been returned to you, plainly marked as expired, after you renewed it. Is there anything you can do with this paper that has expired? As souvenirs of their trips, many people save their passports that have been cancelled. However, some people are interested in selling them. Does it count as a crime to try to resell a US passport that has already expired?

First and foremost, it’s unclear whether or not it’s illegal to resell a passport that’s already expired. Keep in mind, however, that an expired U.S. passport could be used for illegal purposes while deciding whether or not to sell your document. Even though an expired passport cannot be used to travel overseas, it is often recognised as proof of identity on domestic flights as proof of U.S. citizenship.

Why can you not sell an expired passport?

For the authorities, selling a recently expired U.S. passport could be a problem. Passports are the property of the United States and can be seized by the government at any moment, therefore if you try to sell an expired passport, be aware that the government may exercise its rights.

The fact that expired US passports are still crucial for confirming identity means that they can be used for identity theft purposes, which is not a question of legality. Generally speaking, if your passport is less than five years past its expiration date, you should avoid selling it.

Long-expired passports, on the other hand, are not subject to the same restrictions. There is a strong market for “obsolete” passports, which are typically described as those that are more than 20 years out of date. When in doubt, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Keep your old expired U.S. passport as a beautiful record of your past travels rather than selling it.

How to Renew an Expired Passport?

The passport must be renewed if it has expired before you travel abroad. If you want to renew your passport, you’ll often need to take your old one to a government passport service, either in person or by mail.

In order to get your new passport, you’ll need to keep your old one for now. Using your old passport to apply for a new one can speed up the procedure and eliminate the need to provide additional pieces of identification.

When you get your new passport, you’ll likely get your old one back as well. Before returning a cancelled passport, officials would typically stamp it as “invalid,” chop off a corner, or punch a hole in it to show that it has been revoked.

The length of time a passport must be valid before it can be used to enter a foreign country varies from country to country. If you need to renew your passport in advance of your trip, you should check the visa policies for your destination to see if you need to do so. As a result, you won’t have to worry about flying with an invalid or expired document.

What should you do with an expired passport?