It’s been one of the stories of the summer… delays, and that passport to address.
Now every generation remembers their childhood being easier but I can’t recall waiting ten weeks for my document.
Passports, voluntary until after The Spanish Flu it should be remembered, are a chore enough without creating problems.
Now in my previous life, travel editing for a national newspaper, I had to babysit adults.
What’s my name?
And believe it or not making sure my writers put down their right names.
And sometimes even having to correct them, and argue that it didn’t matter if they were known by their nickname or second name, they wouldn’t clear.
Not knowing your own name may be the dumbest reason for having your passport rejected but it is not the only one.
The good news is that there are people (me obvs) but others to help.
Such as Canadian immigration firm MyVisaSource.com who have set the most common pitfalls.
The six-month rule
Some countries will require passports to have at least six months of validity left before they expire.
And when you do apply for your visa make sure you present yourself properly.
Cutting it too close
So allow for enough time before travelling for any unforeseen delays (The Scary One’s mantra for everything).
And it’s advisable to allow for more time during peak seasons.
Picture perfect
A visa application can be denied because of inappropriately sized passport photos.
The country checklist
Each country will have its own specific documentation requirements and these requirements can be used as a checklist.
Ticking off each document when filling out the application can ensure that nothing is missed in the process.
The wrong visa
Family, spousal, travel, and employment are all common visa types.
Check the criteria that are specific to the destination country.
Now there are tales told of people going out in working parties taken off transatlantic flights because they were on ESTAs.
Check, check, double-check
Each country will have its own set of requirements that are usually outlined on its tourism website.
Holding digital and printed copies of each document can be helpful.
Should the application ask you to send and upload a particular document.
And my own tips
Now some of us own more than one passport.
Although you may be pulled in on that account and accused of murdering an icon like James Earl Ray with Martin Luther King.
I saved the customs the trouble of sending me back.
When I took my other ‘expired’ passport with the still applicable five-year US visa through Croatia borders from Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Of course, never one to do the simple thing when I can complicate things I intend to make my life more difficult.
And get myself an Irish passport, although it will be small price to pay to stand proudly in the EU queue.
Now with some waiting ten weeks for their document this is the passport to address.
