UK Passports

Author
Discussion

silverfoxcc

Original Poster:

7,823 posts

151 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
A few years ago i was told that some Arab countries would refuse access if you had an Israeli visa in it, and passport office would issue a second clean passport.. is the true,and if so, are there any other countries who operate under those restrictions?

NDA

22,153 posts

231 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
silverfoxcc said:
A few years ago i was told that some Arab countries would refuse access if you had an Israeli visa in it, and passport office would issue a second clean passport.. is the true,and if so, are there any other countries who operate under those restrictions?
Yes, this was certainly true - I assume it's the same today.

A few years ago I travelled to Dubai with a colleague who was refused entry because of an Israeli stamp in his passport. Happened right in front of me.

pitlane

260 posts

187 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
You can apply for a second passport, you will need to provide a lot of evidence as to the need for it though.

You then have to go through that process again at every renewal, of either passport (not just what has become your second).

So if your original passport is near expiry, it's far better to renew this as normal and then apply for a second, it will save you having to go through the process twice in short order.

There is no formal process for applying for a second passport as such, no specific form or anything. You just apply with the normal application form but enclose a covering letter with the reasons, and then enclose the paperwork that will be needed, formal letter from employer, proof of travel needs, and anything else you can think of that will help your application.

It's not straightforward and you really have to prove a need, they don't issue them easy that's for sure! Last time I renewed one of mine I didn't enclose enough of a need (as I wrongly assumed this would have been 'logged' now) and they came straight back saying why do I need it, must enclose evidence etc, as if I had never a second so I had to go through the entire process all again.

croyde

23,664 posts

236 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
I remember crossing from Macau into China in the 80s and we were given the option not to have our passports stamped as having that red star would mean problems getting into other countries, mainly the USA.

Zaichik

251 posts

42 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
Also the case now with Cuba and some other countries and the USA in as much as the US requires you to obtain a full visa if you have visited Cuba which is a major pia. Not sure if that is enough for the passport office to issue a second passport though?

MatteAva

91 posts

82 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
I have seen the topic mentioned on a few travel website.
This seems to be an good explaination of the process:

https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/04/10/how-to-ge...

FlabbyMidgets

492 posts

93 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
Zaichik said:
Also the case now with Cuba and some other countries and the USA in as much as the US requires you to obtain a full visa if you have visited Cuba which is a major pia. Not sure if that is enough for the passport office to issue a second passport though?
I don't think this is true anymore. I had an ESTA granted in May and declared I had visited Cuba previously.

JoeRRS

141 posts

164 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
Always a good idea to have a clean passport for travel between Israel and GCC countries, I do know of some guys I have worked with in the passed that have used the same passport for multiple locations with no problems but then others who have.

2nd passport is easy enough standard application with a letter from employer had one myself for over 15 years I usually book a collection from the passport office and have copies of all paperwork with me just encase... only needed to use once.

As for entrance into the UK I have worked in a few of what they class as banned countries for ESTA visa and it doesn't matter if you have a brand new passport they know where you have been and you will need to apply for US visa via an embassy mine took 6 months last time but that was in Tbilisi.

Saleen836

11,353 posts

215 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
FlabbyMidgets said:
Zaichik said:
Also the case now with Cuba and some other countries and the USA in as much as the US requires you to obtain a full visa if you have visited Cuba which is a major pia. Not sure if that is enough for the passport office to issue a second passport though?
I don't think this is true anymore. I had an ESTA granted in May and declared I had visited Cuba previously.
If your visit to Cuba was before January 12 2021 this would explain why you had no problem having your ESTA accepted, post this date you will need a visa

LeeM135i

621 posts

60 months

Thursday 4th July
quotequote all
Yes it is, I juggled 3 passports at one point as I had the fun of going to some interesting places. Letter from your employer, there are templates online and an interview at the passport office got it sorted the last time I needed to renew one.

Rumdoodle

913 posts

26 months

Sunday 7th July
quotequote all
I don't know about an Israeli visa, but a stamp was not necessarily a problem. I entered Jordan, Afghanistan, UAE and Turkey with an Israeli stamp. And, yes it's straightforward to apply for a second UK passport with a supporting letter stating the need.

languagetimothy

1,207 posts

168 months

Sunday 7th July
quotequote all
I recall some years ago you had to buy a visa when entering Turkey but instead of a stamp you were given an easily removable sticky bit of paper. The reason was I think that if you visited Greece in the future you could remove the Turkish visa so as not to upset the Greeks.. so I’m told.

Rumdoodle

913 posts

26 months

Sunday 7th July
quotequote all
languagetimothy said:
I recall some years ago you had to buy a visa when entering Turkey but instead of a stamp you were given an easily removable sticky bit of paper. The reason was I think that if you visited Greece in the future you could remove the Turkish visa so as not to upset the Greeks.. so I’m told.
These days it's a stamp on arrival in Turkey.

RC1807

12,867 posts

174 months

Sunday 7th July
quotequote all
I have 2 valid UK Passports.

I used to travel a LOT for work, and being resident in Luxembourg, before I obtained nationality, we were expected to use the passport as ID whilst here, and my passport was often off for Visas….China, Russia, etc.

I wrote a letter on company headed paper to the UK Passport Office, signed by 2 board members from my employer, explaining I needed my passport for day to day use, but also business visa applications where the passport would be out of my possession for days on end.

I sent the letter with a Passport application and a certified copy of my entire, current UK Passport - cover and every page - and the back cover too.

I received an email to tell me this was accepted and soon received the new passport by courier.

(Applying for my ESTA this year meant I had to enter details for 4 passports and 2 ID cards…took a while!)


Rumdoodle

913 posts

26 months

Sunday 7th July
quotequote all
It's worth considering that any country that admits Israeli passport holders (these days the UAE does) isn't going to have a problem with residents of other countries who have Israel stamps in their passports.