Getting a second UK passport

[uk_vette]

Hello all,

I am planning a long trip that will take me through many countries.
For all these countries, I will need a visa.
I worked out I will need about 7 visas.

So while my main passport is away getting 'visa'd up'
I will need a second passport to enable me to carry on with my work and holiday plans.

What do I ask the passport office, when I go and ask for a 2nd passport?

'vette

Edited by uk_vette on Sunday 3rd October 21:57

[Nickyboy]

Don't believe you are allowed 2 passports, if you are a current holder you need to sent it back to get a new one

[rottie102]

Just tell them you've lost the first one? And then "find it"...

[PabloTeK]

rottie102 said:

Just tell them you've lost the first one? And then "find it"...

As far as I can remember the passport number (which is what is used for data lookups) is unique to that particular book, replacements get a new number.

[Fort Jefferson]

rottie102 said:

Just tell them you've lost the first one?

If you do that, it will be canceled and picked up as being fraudulent, when it is machine read.

[MarJay]

Nickyboy said:

Don't believe you are allowed 2 passports, if you are a current holder you need to sent it back to get a new one

You certainly are allowed more than one passport. There is no reason why you can't. It is very useful as for example you might travel to Syria on business, Cuba on Holiday and then have to travel to the US on business again. US immigration doesn't look kindly upon Cuban or Syrian passport stamps...

Not that I advocate using two passports for this sort of thing, but you certainly are allowed more than one as long as you pay for them.

[r1chardh]

you definitely can get two (I have recently been through the same process) but you'll need some kind of official-looking letter from an employer / lawyer / accountant explaining that you need to be able to travel whilst your passport is away applying for visas. may be best to do it in person if you can get to the passport office near Victoria station, but you will have to pay quite a lot, and it'll take a few hours. when you phone them to make an appointment they may not ask for a letter, but take one anyway because they will when you get to the desk. hope this helps... and safe travels!

richard

[RYH64E]

You used to be able to get a second passport if you wanted to visit two countries, either of whom would deny entry to travellers with a visa stamp from the other. A colleague who used to travel extensively around the Middle East for business had one passport that he used when visiting Israel, and another for everywhere else. That was a while ago though, I don't know if it is still possible. Whilst they might not actually refuse entry, I can think of certain Visas that I wouldn't want in my passport if visiting America...

edited to add: Damn, will have to learn to type quicker...

Edited by RYH64E on Sunday 3rd October 22:09

[uk_vette]

THANKS GUYS, SOME GOOD ANSWERS.

I Don't really want to say I have lost my passport, or I have had it stolen.
As I don't want the original passport to be cancelled.

Should I take a letter from my employer, ? suggesting I need a second passport to use, while getting visas in first passport ?

Or simply get a short letter from a solicitor?

[Blue Meanie]

I have two passports... Your employer should be able to give you a letter explaining the situation.

[Nickyboy]

After a brief bit of research yes you can but you normally as someone said need a good letter of reason from your employer stating why

[r1chardh]

if it's easy enough then get one from your employer. I'm self-employed so got one from my accountant. just make sure it's on headed paper (I swear that was all they cared about!) and says why you need it. I did this about a year ago, so may be worth checking over the phone if it has changed at all.

[Antarctic Mat]

Hi.

I have 2, your employer is the best bet, of course you need to have a legitimate reason for requiring 2! It's standard within the industry I work so my company is fully set up to deal with it.

Mat

[zeppelin101]

Blue Meanie said:

I have two passports... Your employer should be able to give you a letter explaining the situation.

This. It's a requirement for where I worked on placement for employees to have two passports in the event they need to send one off to obtain a Visa (India for example) and you are travelling abroad to another country in the intervening time. Provided the employer has a decent excuse then you will be granted the second passport with little to no fuss.

[williaa68]

So do I. A letter from the company secretary or similar stating that you are required to travel frequently and to countries where visas are often required will do the trick.

[FranKinFezza]

I haven't checked but i was under the impression that you can request
a passport with extra pages to allow for more frequent stamping.

[smack]

As others have said, you can get two passports. Most people in motorsport have two who go to races, have two for the exact reason you describe. Places like Japan need a "entertainers visa" each time they go there, so they have someone in the team organising everyones visas for races during the year in the team.

[Vipers]

r1chardh said:

you definitely can get two (I have recently been through the same process) but you'll need some kind of official-looking letter from an employer / lawyer / accountant explaining that you need to be able to travel whilst your passport is away applying for visas. may be best to do it in person if you can get to the passport office near Victoria station, but you will have to pay quite a lot, and it'll take a few hours. when you phone them to make an appointment they may not ask for a letter, but take one anyway because they will when you get to the desk. hope this helps... and safe travels!

richard

Thats how I got my 2nd passport, one away being vised up, the other one to allow me to travel, got a letter from my employer. Perfectly legal, but they did say that holding 2 passports is illegal in certain countries, cant remember which ones though.

Edited by Vipers on Sunday 3rd October 23:44

Edited by Vipers on Sunday 3rd October 23:45

[Xaero]

FranKinFezza said:

I haven't checked but i was under the impression that you can request
a passport with extra pages to allow for more frequent stamping.

Yes, you can get 48 page one instead of 36. I wasn't aware of the 2 UK passport availability, learn something new everyday

[llewop]

Blue Meanie said:

I have two passports... Your employer should be able to give you a letter explaining the situation.

+1

and don't forget that you'll need to get another letter to renew your original passport too!

which happened to me 6 months after getting the 2nd one!