Renewing your passport: how to do, what steps?

How do you redo your passport when it expires, or is it lost or stolen? Here's how to renew your passport!

Valid for ten years, the biometric passport is a piece of identity issued to citizens by the deccented services of the state, a precious sesame that allows to cross borders to travel abroad. You'll soon take off for a foreign country and everything is ready. And by stupor, do you see that your passport is expired, lost, stolen or passed under the dog’s crocs? Obviously, the airlines and customs will not let you board or cross the border without showing a valid passport.

Don’t panic, redo your passport doesn’t take much time, so long as you’re doing the passport well procedures for the renewal of a passport In time. Whether it’s a passport renewal or a loss/flight return, the steps to be taken are different. Here are our tips to redo your passport as soon as possible and to go quietly to the airport.

When do you return your passport?

Since the end of June 2009, any passport issued in France is a so-called biometric passport. A former model – obtained before June 2009 – remains valid until its expiry date, so the holder of this former passport does not have to replace it. However, it should be noted that some countries – Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Peru, Russia, Thailand, etc. – require that the passport be valid six months after the scheduled return date (in case you want to stay a little more and apply for a visa extension): if it expires in January 2019 for a departure in February, for example, be careful to redo your passport as soon as possible.

Gather necessary documents

The documents to be provided depend on the situation: major or minor, first request or renewal, possession (or not) of a secure identity card. The sooner we get them together, the sooner we get the passport. In most cases, it is:

• the passport application form,
• the old passport or identity card,
• a 25 x 45 mm identity photograph,
• Statement of loss (or flight) where applicable,
• a tax stamp – at the cost of 86 € -,
• a proof of residence less than three months (phone, electricity, rent, property title, tax notices, home insurance certificate).

The documents to be provided also differ depending on whether the passport is valid or perished, whether an identity card or not, whether major or minor, etc. To find out what to gather according to your personal situation, the best is to find out on the site of the French administration .

Where to go to make his passport again?

Everywhere in French territory, you can apply for a passport renewal (or redo it) at the Prefecture or in a Town hall equipped with a registration station , who will ask for fingerprints. Once you have completed a pre-requested form, the community will verify the supporting documentation provided. It should be noted that an application made in town hall takes on average more time than in the Prefecture.

What is the cost of a passport renewal?

To renew your passport, you must go to buy a tax stamp whose price varies according to age:

• Major person: 86 €,
• Minor person over 15 years old: 42 €,
• Persons under 15 years old: 17 €.

Tax stamps can be purchased in a tobacco office (attention, some buralists are not authorized) or in a corporate tax department. It is also possible to pay an electronic tax stamp online, on the website Public finance .

What manufacturing time?

His passport cannot be re-issued: documents are produced by the National Printing Group in Flers-en-Escrebieux (59). An interactive voice server (34 00) allows you to learn about the production time as requested.

Be aware of the time to obtain the passport: they usually vary from 2 weeks to more than 12 weeks depending on the weakness and size of the Prefecture. This is the official deadline but in reality, in large cities, a week is sometimes enough. Asked just before a trip to Canada, we got him in exile in seven days, received the day before departure...

The removal of the passport

To withdraw the passport, again, you have to go there. No public institution takes the risk of sending this document to La Poste and it is quite normal: what would happen if the passport was lost and never arrived at your home? Generally, the City Hall in which the passport renewal application was made, may send an SMS to warn that the document is available. From then on, just go there to remove it on site. Passports are to be removed within three months, and will be destroyed by the administration beyond this period. Don’t let the days go, it would be a shame to have to repay €86...

Have you done your passport lately? Tell us in the comments your tips!

Main photo credit: Pixabay – jackmac34