# Any downside to not renewing my passport?



## Charles Daniels (Jan 18, 2010)

I currently hold an American and a British passport.

My American passport will expire in May this year.

I currently live in Britain, plan to continue to live in Britain, and will definitely not be making any trips to America for several years due to my financial situation.

With my financial situation in mind, should I bother to pay for a renewed American passport?


What happens if I let my American passport lapse and want a new one in 4 or 5 years time for some reason? Do I have to start all over again?

I guess I'm wondering -

1. If it's far less painful to just renew now, just on the off chance that I might need it again at some point in the future

2. If there are any potential legal weirdnesses/problems of not renewing it


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## Charles Daniels (Jan 18, 2010)

Kept looking into this.
Hmm...seems that, under current regs, I can hold off renewing for up to 15 years with not much hassle at all.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Charles Daniels said:


> Kept looking into this.
> Hmm...seems that, under current regs, I can hold off renewing for up to 15 years with not much hassle at all.


Basically, that's what I was going to post. Letting it go further than the 15 years means you go back to square one if you re-apply for a passport - birth certificate and the whole bit, plus the higher fee for a "first" passport.

However, given that Britain still doesn't have a national i.d. card, it can be useful to have your U.S. passport in any circumstances where you may have to prove your nationality for any reason - say, a visit to the US consulate or embassy (they do throw great parties, if you can manage to get yourself onto the guest list).

In other countries in Europe, you may need your passport as i.d. for day-to-day uses.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Charles Daniels (Jan 18, 2010)

Bevdeforges said:


> Basically, that's what I was going to post. Letting it go further than the 15 years means you go back to square one if you re-apply for a passport - birth certificate and the whole bit, plus the higher fee for a "first" passport.
> 
> However, given that Britain still doesn't have a national i.d. card, it can be useful to have your U.S. passport in any circumstances where you may have to prove your nationality for any reason - say, a visit to the US consulate or embassy (they do throw great parties, if you can manage to get yourself onto the guest list).
> 
> ...


Thanks Bev!

Sorry for asking something which I was able to find out more about pretty quickly.

But, to be honest, I tend to be very bad at understanding legal requirements and reading documentation. But the passport info was really clear on this point when I look it up!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

It's not really all that "dumb" a question. When you have another passport, you have to kind of think through what your options are. I'm in somewhat the same boat - the US passport will always be necessary if you're going back to the US, but otherwise your other passport should do just fine.

It's just that in an emergency situation, it would be really annoying to have to dig out another birth certificate, etc. etc. in the starting from scratch scenario.
Cheers,
Bev


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## 123me (Apr 28, 2009)

Another good post that I will ask a question about. My daughter and I are moving to England this summer, we have dual citizenship, Canadian and Dutch. Both my passports are good for almost 5 years, but my daughter's Canadian passport expires May 2011. We are not sure how long we are staying in England, 1-2 years....I think I should renew her's before we go, any feedback would be appreciated.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

123me said:


> Another good post that I will ask a question about. My daughter and I are moving to England this summer, we have dual citizenship, Canadian and Dutch. Both my passports are good for almost 5 years, but my daughter's Canadian passport expires May 2011. We are not sure how long we are staying in England, 1-2 years....I think I should renew her's before we go, any feedback would be appreciated.


Assuming you'll be entering the UK on your Dutch passports, there's no real reason to renew your daughter's Canadian passport that far in advance (and lose nearly a year of validity on it). 

You should be able to renew her passport through the Canadian Consulate in the UK. Best plan is to google the Canadian Consulate in London now and see what their website says about renewing passports. If you can live with the procedure, just renew it after you're settled in over there.
Cheers,
Bev


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## joelpb (Nov 23, 2009)

I can not see why any one would want to move to the U.K. It is cold and damp all the time. When I lived there the only good things were the people and the pubs. I guess I like the heat to much just like some BRITS hate the heat. The food is not that great either. Things have changed I guess. When I was there you had to use coins for the heat and the tely.


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## 123me (Apr 28, 2009)

Thanks Bev...I will check the website.


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## 123me (Apr 28, 2009)

joelpb said:


> I can not see why any one would want to move to the U.K. It is cold and damp all the time. When I lived there the only good things were the people and the pubs. I guess I like the heat to much just like some BRITS hate the heat. The food is not that great either. Things have changed I guess. When I was there you had to use coins for the heat and the tely.


We all love different countries for different reasons!


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