Passport - One Passport Per Person

One Passport Per Person

Many countries issue only one passport to each national. When passport holders apply for a new passport (commonly, due to expiration of an old passport or lack of blank pages), they may be required to surrender the old passport for invalidation. In some circumstances an expired passport is not required to be surrendered or invalidated (for example, if it contains an unexpired visa).

Some countries allow, under specified circumstances, the holding of more than one passport by a citizen. One circumstance is a disqualifying stamp in a passport, such as a stamp which shows travel to Israel, and the citizen intends travel to a country which does not recognize Israel. Another circumstance is frequent international travel including to countries with protracted visa application process. Awaiting a visa for a particular country, a person with two passports may travel to other countries with the second passport. Some countries issue restricted passports valid only for travel to one or more neighbouring countries. A person may hold at the same time a restricted passport for frequent travels to neighbouring countries and an ordinary international passport for travels to other countries.