Tips for Securing Your Passport when Traveling

A passport is an important document for proving your citizenship when traveling. This document is recognized in the United States and other countries when it comes to recognizing travelers. Without this document, you might not be allowed entry into some countries. As such, you should keep this document safe and secure when traveling. Here are useful tips for securing your passport when traveling. 

Check the Expiry Date of Your Passport 

This is an important thing to do before you travel. For your passport to be considered valid, it should be at least 6 months away from the expiry date. This is a requirement for travelers to most countries. Therefore, if you plan to use your passport to travel, check its expiry date first. And, you should this early because the passport renewal process might take longer. 

Back-up the Passport before Leaving 

Scan the pages of the passport, especially those containing personal details. This can speed up the process of proving your identity or replacing it if the original one is stolen or lost. After scanning the passport, store the copies in Google Docs or Dropbox. You can also email yourself the scanned copies to make it easier to access from any place in the world. 

Share a Copy of the Passport with Somebody at Home 

Emailing a copy of a scanned passport to your email address or putting it in a Dropbox might be sufficient for some people. However, it’s still important to give a trusted person back at home a scanned copy of the passport. This can be a friend, a parent, or a lawyer. It should be a person that you can trust to respond quickly and act accordingly if you need their assistance. 

Cover the Passport 

In some cases, you don’t want people to know where you come from. That’s because it can put you at risk. Therefore, cover the passport to ensure that people don’t know much about your identity. You can do this by purchasing a good passport cover. 

Carry the Passport on Person

Being the most important travel document, your passport should always be close to you. So, if you can’t carry it on you, lock it up somewhere safe. And, if you carry the passport with you, make sure that it can’t be stolen. For instance, if you carry the passport in a travel bag or purse, make sure it’s zipped up in your internal pocket. Avoid carrying your passport loosely in a bag that a pickpocket’s hand can access with ease. 

In addition to taking these measures, check your passport more often. However, do it privately to ensure that thieves are not watching you.