I know. It can be a hassle getting a passport, especially the first time, and you’re probably thinking how nice it must have been to just pick up and go “back then.” In reality, the idea of a passport is nothing new.
One of the earliest mentions of a document recording someone being under a ruler’s protection while traveling abroad is around 450 BC! The biblical book of Nehemiah mentions that the Persian king, Artaxerxes, gave him letters requesting his safe passage from the governors of the lands beyond the Euphrates on his journey to Judah.
Hey, let’s face it, though it can be inconvenient going through the steps of getting a passport, aside from the fact you need one to legally enter and exit a country, the idea of traveling under the protection of one’s country IS appealing. Embassies can be a wonderful sight if you run into unforeseen trouble.
Obviously, things have changed a bit over the years since the term “passport” came into use around 1540 (whether because of people passing through maritime ports or the city wall gates—”portes” in French—who knows). US passports issued since August 2007 have a small integrated chip in the back cover which stores passport information and has a biometric identifier based on your photo (joy—can’t say my photo is that great).
Also, did you know that, in an effort to combat high-tech identity theft, metallic elements are also embedded into your passport which won’t allow it to be digitally “read” unless it’s actually physically open?
While other changes are on the horizon, like embedded microchips, biometric data, fingerprints and iris patterns, I’ve got 6 tips and facts about passports that might surprise— or apply—to you, to help keep you out of trouble with one of your most important travel documents.
-
Standard passports are 28 pages, but you can request a 52-page passport at no additional cost. Otherwise, if you run out of pages, you’ll need to renew your passport. You can no longer request extra visa pages be added to an existing passport as in the past.
-
Similarly, if you don’t have many blank pages in your passport, check the requirements for all countries where you plan to travel Some countries require you to have as many as 3 blank pages in your passport for visa and immigration stamps. So, if you’re traveling to multiple countries on the same trip, do the math and make sure you have enough blank pages….
-
I recommend you think about renewing your passport every 9 years rather than wait for the 10th year. Among other reasons you should renew early (which I’ll discuss in a separate post), some countries require that you have as much as 6 months of validity after your date of entry.
Phew! This post is getting lengthy, so I’ll continue next week with the last 3 of my 6 tips and facts to help keep you out of trouble with your passport.
