Passport Safety Tips To Consider For Your Travels

What does the passport mean to you? To me, it’s the petite and most colorful thing with stamps from around the world. It’s really my best friend when I travel. If you really think about it, your passport gives you the world and asks for nothing in return, even when we forget where we left it sometimes. So here are my tips to keeping the passport safe, and also keeping it away from little mishaps like spilling coffee all over it.

Travel Tips: How To Keep The Passport Safe

Passport

Passport | (c) Photo By Freephoto

1. Always Be With Your Passport

If you travel a lot, you know that your passport goes from hand to hand a lot too. This include borders checks, hotels, booking tickets, security check points and many other things. So you know that the passport does leave your hands every so often. Therefore, always remember keep your eyes on where your passport is. Don’t make the mistake of thinking “oh, I’ll just let whoever take down the information while I go for a quick snack, short nap or ATM withdrawal. Stay near your passport at all times while it’s being handled by others. This is not only so you know where you passport is, but it shows the person handling your passport not mess with it.

2. Use Silica Gel

The recent discovery of how silica gel help to keep the passport in good shape came to me only recently. If you didn’t know it either, you can read about it now. Adding a silica gel packet to you passport case helps keep your passport from feeling the effects of overly humid environments. So when you see silica gel packets in your brand new shoe boxes, save them without throwing them away. But keep it in a safe place, away from children.

3. Passport Cover

Maybe this is common sense but you will be surprised to see how many travelers carry their passports with no protection while walking through the airport. If you don’t have one, get a passport cover. It cost less than $10 but it helps prolong the life of your passport, saving it from minor spills and whatnot. Secondly, it helps you find it in your purse or bag filled with other ‘stuff’ that we carry. This way, its easy to spot it and take it. Just keep in mind that you do have to remove your passport from the cover for inspection at immigration, customs, etc.

4. Make Photo Copies

Many of you might already know that apart from checkpoints at airports and border crossings, you don’t need to give your actual passport for everyone who asks for it. A copy will suffice in many cases. This is also advantageous to get a replacement passport, in case something happens to it. Also, consider memorizing the vital passport information when you travel. These are the number, expiration date, issue date and city issued.

5. Digital Scan

Before you start your travels, scan your passport and email it to yourself and anyone else who travels with you. You can save it as a PDF and keep a copy on a pen drive on your travels as well. This way, your passport copy will never be farther away than a computer, tablet or smartphone.

4. Leave A Passport Copy At Home

It’s a good idea to leave copies of your passport with your family members or close friends who won’t be joining you for travels. If by any chance your passport gets lost, you can quickly get the vital details from an email or a phone call.

How do you keep your passport safe?

6 Responses to “Passport Safety Tips To Consider For Your Travels”

  1. I need to use these tips the next time I have to use my passport. I’ve only had to carry my passport once so far and I thought I lost it. I was sick! But it looks like I will be putting these tips to use to preserve and keep my passport safe. Thanks Salika
    Aaron Andrews recently posted..What We Can Learn From Diddy’s Instagram Fashion ShowMy Profile

  2. These are great tips and I’m glad we use all of these. It’s hard to have all four of our passports safe :) I’ve never heard of silica gel so I will need to check that out. I love passports and the thought of bringing them out from the safe is a wonderful feeling.
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  3. I do everything, except the silica gel. I didn’t know about that! I agree about keeping your passport with you at all times. You can’t be too careful.
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