# Passport - Running out of pages



## 1919 (Oct 16, 2012)

Ok here is my scenario.

Passport runs until 2019 so plenty of time left, however I am now down to 1 completely free page (recently had my updated UAE visa put in and also a 6 month Saudi visa).

I have a requirement to travel to Saudi this month and the US in Jan (both places I have visited before).

Does anyone know the rules around which pages they stamp? With my previous Saudi visits, they have stamped the Entry / Exit on the page adjacent to my old Visa's, but my new visa is on a page of its own. 

Are they likely to A. Stamp the one free remaining page or B. Stamp one of the previous pages used?

This then leads me onto the US visit. If option A happens above, then I have no free pages remaining. Will US immigration stamp a previous page or will they be looking for a fresh one?

I have just looked into renewing my passport, but the turnaround is at least 6 weeks apparently. My trip to the US is in the 2nd week of Jan, so this isn't an option.

So, to my knowledge my options are:

A. Risk it and travel to Saudi in the hope I still have one free page afterwards for my US visit.

B. Jump on a plane back to the UK and get my passport renewed on a 4 hr turnaround

Cheers


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

USA can be really funny, don't know about Saudi, I'd go for:-



> B. Jump on a plane back to the UK and get my passport renewed on a 4 hr turnaround


leave on a Thursday evening, come back Friday evening, get back here Saturday morning.


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## 1919 (Oct 16, 2012)

The Rascal said:


> USA can be really funny, don't know about Saudi, I'd go for:-
> 
> 
> 
> leave on a Thursday evening, come back Friday evening, get back here Saturday morning.


They are both pretty important trips, so not like I can just leave one until later.

Saudi trip is first, so I am sure that visit will be fine as I will have the 1 page free (assuming UAE immigration don't use it).

Not exactly cheap flying back to the UK, but might not have a choice


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Get an E-gate card and stop clogging up your passport with UAE stamps for starters. You shouldn't need to get stamps for moving in and out of the UAE if you have residency.

Saudi immigration will generally stamp on the via for incoming and will try and use a different page for outgoing.

One page isn't enough - you will need to get a replacement done quickly.


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## Windsweptdragon (Aug 12, 2012)

Saudi won't need a new page, I travelled there and back weekly for 6 months, they are willing to completely fill one page up if necessary. 

One of my colleagues used a paper clip to seal passport at the visa page, they could only then use the adjacent one, there was at least 50 stamps in multiple layers. It was impossible to read the actual stamps!

Unfortunately you'll now be stuck carrying two passports until your UAE visa expires.


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## robbo265 (Nov 22, 2014)

1919 said:


> Ok here is my scenario. Passport runs until 2019 so plenty of time left, however I am now down to 1 completely free page (recently had my updated UAE visa put in and also a 6 month Saudi visa). I have a requirement to travel to Saudi this month and the US in Jan (both places I have visited before). Does anyone know the rules around which pages they stamp? With my previous Saudi visits, they have stamped the Entry / Exit on the page adjacent to my old Visa's, but my new visa is on a page of its own. Are they likely to A. Stamp the one free remaining page or B. Stamp one of the previous pages used? This then leads me onto the US visit. If option A happens above, then I have no free pages remaining. Will US immigration stamp a previous page or will they be looking for a fresh one? I have just looked into renewing my passport, but the turnaround is at least 6 weeks apparently. My trip to the US is in the 2nd week of Jan, so this isn't an option. So, to my knowledge my options are: A. Risk it and travel to Saudi in the hope I still have one free page afterwards for my US visit. B. Jump on a plane back to the UK and get my passport renewed on a 4 hr turnaround Cheers


 had the same problem earlier this year and renewed whilst back in UK on holiday. Be careful though as you do have to give a minimum notice (3 weeks i think) to make the appointment for the 4 hour turnaround, although if you go to a regional office other than London you may get a quicker appointment


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## jgw99 (May 26, 2014)

agree with a previous poster. US CBP can be funny. One time I had a similar predicament--no more blank pages. CBP officer just informed me about it and he just stamped entry into page which still had a little space. However, I am a US cit (not sure if it matters).

Aside from CBP officer, one thing you might encounter are anal airline agents upon departure for flight into the US. I've experienced a situation(flight from Paris to NYC) where ground staff wouldn't allow the individual to get her boarding pass due to not having an extra page on the passport for visa stamping. 

I know there is the VWP so not sure if this affects the actions of the airline ground staff (visitors under VWP vs those with actually US Visa pages).


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## 1919 (Oct 16, 2012)

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it.

If I go back to the UK it'll be flying into Manchester, so I will head to the Liverpool or Durham offices. I managed to get my new born son's first passport within 1 week at Durham, so hopefully it'll be straight forward.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I've covered unused pages with post it notes before now to stop them being stamped and, whenever I was asked why, I explained and I never had a problem.


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## 1919 (Oct 16, 2012)

BedouGirl said:


> I've covered unused pages with post it notes before now to stop them being stamped and, whenever I was asked why, I explained and I never had a problem.


Haha!

I think I would be point black refused entry if I tried that!


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## The Rascal (Aug 6, 2014)

1919 said:


> Haha!
> 
> I think I would be point black refused entry if I tried that!


It's actually a common thing to do when you go to I***** for example. The Visa is stored electronically on their immigration system, the stamp is more there for your benefit than theirs.


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## expatsue (Aug 21, 2013)

1919 said:


> Thanks for the advice, appreciate it.
> 
> If I go back to the UK it'll be flying into Manchester, so I will head to the Liverpool or Durham offices. I managed to get my new born son's first passport within 1 week at Durham, so hopefully it'll be straight forward.


Don't forget to book an appointment at the passport office first:
https://www.gov.uk/get-a-passport-urgently


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