Temp Passport: What is it?

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A temporary passport is used when a regular passport is lost, stolen, or not available in time for urgent travel. The application process is similar to a regular passport, but can be more expensive. Temporary passports may have restrictions and are only issued on a case-by-case basis.

Also known as an emergency passport, a temporary passport is used in circumstances where the traveler needs to start traveling quickly and does not have a usable passport. These types of passports are only available when expedited passport processing is too slow. The application process for obtaining an emergency passport is similar to that for obtaining a new one, so the traveler will need documents proving citizenship and identity in addition to passport photos. The loss or theft of a passport is usually not a reason to get a passport fee exemption; in fact, obtaining a temporary passport sometimes requires the traveler to pay a relatively expensive fee.

A temporary passport is used when it is impossible for a person to get a passport through normal methods quickly enough. This situation usually arises when a normal passport is lost, stolen, or a person did not have a passport to begin with and now urgently needs to go abroad. An emergency passport is used for the same purposes as a regular passport, although some countries place additional restrictions on temporary-use passports. In addition to expiring quickly, for example, temporary passports can often only be used to travel to a single destination country, and then expire. These passports usually come in the form of a booklet similar to a regular passport and contain the same personal details.

Depending on the issuing country, temporary passports may be issued on a case-by-case basis. A person seeking a passport on a temporary basis may need to provide many details about their situation and why they believe they need to purchase a passport. In some cases, such as when a passport is stolen, the citizen is required to file a police report with his application for a temporary passport. Most countries will only consider granting someone a temporary passport if they convince the government agency that urgent travel is required and normal passport procedures will not suffice. Also, if a lost or stolen passport has expired, the possibility of obtaining a temporary one is sometimes ruled out.

The cost of obtaining an emergency passport is usually the price of a regular passport, plus the cost of the fastest passport processing method available. Because of this, these passports are often very expensive. Combined with the fact that some passport services only issue documents on a case-by-case basis, they are mostly used as a last resort.




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