Mai Tai Tracy’s (and Tom’s) Favorite Things
December 14, 2024Cut Through the Chaos and Renew Your Passport Online!
(Report by Tracy – June 2025) As my passport was set to expire six months after our upcoming trip to Europe, I was concerned I might be in the danger zone of being denied entry or not being allowed to board the plane as some countries and airlines require passports to be valid for up to six months after your last day of travel.
From U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Some countries –especially in Europe – require that your passport be valid for at least 6 more months after your travel dates.”
A friend of ours was denied boarding when her passport was set to expire within three months. Read about the perils of not renewing your passport early in Tom’s post.
I was also concerned that between the chaos with the Federal government staffing cuts and how horrible the U.S. Postal service has become that I might never get my passport renewed. What to do? Fortunately, the U.S. Government launched a program in 2024 that allows passport renewal online. But would I qualify?
From the U.S. Government website Renew my Passport Online
You can renew online if you meet all these requirements:
Yay! Online renewal it is for me and I needed to get cracking as I have not applied for my Real ID, and we are planning a domestic trip this summer which means I will need a passport to board that flight.
But first, I needed a digital passport photo that could be uploaded in .JPEG file format. In addition, it needed to have a white background, no shadows, no hats, eyeglasses or smiles. We do not have a single white wall in our house so I had a friend take multiple photos against the white walls at work. Every single one of them was terrible, but aren’t most passport photos terrible? I digress.
There are sample photos and even a quick video on how to take your passport photo in the Travel.State.Gov instructions. In addition, after you upload the photo, it appears to check that it is acceptable before you continue the application.
According to Travel.State.Gov, the online passport renewal process takes 40 minutes. Terrible photo saved to my desktop, passport and credit card in hand, I started the application and was done in … 10 minutes! Pretty sure it went faster as I already have a Login.gov account because I have both Global Entry and Redress numbers.
As of April 2025 the processing times for renewing online was 4 to 6 weeks versus 6 to 8 weeks renewal by mail.
MaiTai Tom Travel Tips:
For those U.S. citizens traveling to the United Kingdom, as of April 2, 2025, permission to enter the UK is required via an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). It currently costs £16 to apply through the UK ETA app or the GOV.UK website; beware of other sites charging more.
Apply for an electronic travel authorization (ETA) – GOV.UK
And beginning in 2026, U.S. citizens will need to apply for an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) to travel to “… countries that are in the Schengen Area, those where Schengen visa policy applies de facto, and nations in the process of joining Schengen.”
Don’t have Global Entry yet? Check out our post. And in case you need a redress number like Tracy did, here is her post.
My new passport (with terrible photo) arrived within four weeks and I received a few update emails along the way so I knew where I was in the process. I quickly signed it and added the new passport number to my Global Entry (don’t forget to do this!). NOTE: There is now a warning and recommendation included in your passport to renew at least one year prior to the expiration date.
I cringe to think how old I will be the next time I need a passport, but in the meantime … Enjoy the Journey!
(From subscriber Stephen: “Anyone who might have difficulty taking a digital photo for whatever reason, Walgreens will email a digital copy of a passport photo in addition to the two photos they provide for folks doing the renewal by mail.”)
