More passports

Why on earth would you want two passports? If you have dual nationality you may have passports from two different countries. What I am talking about here is a second passport from the same country. Well, it turns out there are two good and official reasons plus one that is less so. Having a second passport is perfectly allowable and legal. In some countries it is really quite easy to get two or even three passports. You will not be surprised to learn that in the UK it is not so easy. However, it is possible if you meet the criteria and apply in the correct way.

The first reason for needing two passports would be if you intended to visit two contradictory countries. That is, countries that do not like each other to such an extent that if you have a passport stamp from one you will not be allowed into the other. Sometimes this is associated with disputed territories, so for example, stamps from Kosovo, Israel and Abkhazia can cause problems in certain other countries. Similarly having an Iranian stamp might cause hassle when visiting Israel. Even undisputed areas can be contradictory so that same Iranian stamp might also see you banned from the USA under the Visa Waiver Program. A Ukrainian stamp could cause trouble when entering Russia. There are almost certainly other examples. The nature of international politics is such that this landscape is constantly changing.

A side note about novelty passport stamps – avoid them. I used to be quite proud of a penguin stamp I got from the Cape Horn lighthouse. Now know it was not such a good idea. Your passport is an official government document and when marked for any non-official purposes, you are technically defacing it. This is frowned on by some officials. Border guards do not have a sense of humour. It has been widely reported that a UK woman was barred from a flight to Thailand a couple of years ago because of a Machu Pichu stamp in her passport. There may be other cases. I am not suggesting you should have a second passport to collect novelty stamps. Put them somewhere else altogether.

The second reason for concurrent passports is that you travel a lot and so, on occasion, will need to send one passport away for a visa while travelling on the other one.

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Finally, the reason many people might consider a second passport, in case one is lost or stolen, is not such a good reason in practice. Usually, when you leave a country, the border guards will want to see your entry stamp. This is your proof that you entered the country legally. So if your passport is lost then you will probably need embassy help anyhow.

In preparation for travelling much further east we decided to apply for a second passport each. There is a good chance of contradictory countries and we will definitely be sending off for many visas. We succeeded but it took a while. Ten weeks in fact. We had hoped for two or three weeks at the most. At the two week point, we were informed by the passport office that our EU compliant photos were not UK compliant. New photos from the high street shop were not a problem but they needed to be counter-signed and our designated counter-signatory, Andrew, had meanwhile caught the Covid. Fortunately, he was still willing, so with the help of his wife, Anne, some plastic bags, a tea tray and some slightly acrobatic leaning out of windows, we managed to get the signatures without the virus. Thank you both. After that minor excitement we just had to wait.

We were in the UK about 2½ times longer than we had planned for. It was nice to catch up with friends and family. It was nice to drink real ale and go to the chip shop. It was nice to walk in some familiar countryside. But the road was calling. Accommodation was a bit of a problem. Fortunately,  Gary, who I knew of old and had previously met in Western Sahara, helped us out. Thank you Gary.

After what had seemed like an age, our new passports arrived. We waited nervously for our old passports to come back. Would they be cancelled? A day later our old and still valid passports arrived. Hooray – we were good to go.

Last thing to do was get rid of the car. The beautiful Jaguar V8 Sovereign is a terrific vehicle and a complete joy to drive. Unfortunately, post-Brexit it is next to impossible to keep a UK registered car in Europe. So it has gone to my baby sister, Helen. At least it is still in the family and I may still get a chance to drive it again.

Finally reunited with Baloo we just had time to grab a few supplies and head off to the Black Forest for my birthday. Back on the road again.