“So, we have passports that do not expire until 2025. Our book has only one page left, but we also have work permits for Uganda in our passports. We go frequently to Kenya and can’t be without our passport for any length of time. Not sure how to proceed. The American Embassy here in Uganda clearly does not exist to help American citizens, not sure what to do any help is greatly appreciated.”
Reader Question: Work Permit in a Passport Which is Almost Full
What you just read was this question which was posted in the Comments section by Connie Jackson — who is a reader of The Gate — in this article pertaining to the discontinuation of the service of adding additional visa pages to existing United States passports by the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Department of State of the United States, which became effective as of Friday, January 1, 2016.
If you are a holder of a passport in need of additional space in your passport, you will need to renew your passports by mail using form DS-82. If you renew your passport from outside of the United States, you will automatically be issued a larger 52-page book. If you renew your passport within the United States, you are to indicate your preference for a 28-page or 52-page book by checking the appropriate box at the top of the form.
The good news is that there is no fee difference for book sizes, as they both cost $110.00. The former option of adding pages to an existing passport would have saved you $28.00.
Summary
I do not have experience with work permits, which is the wild card for me. I do not know if the Ugandan government would consider a work permit in a canceled passport still valid if it was presented along with the new passport — or would the holder of the passport be required to go through the motions of applying for another work permit, which would cost time, money and effort.
As different countries have different policies, my suggestion to Connie Jackson is to contact the government of Uganda as soon as possible and ask the aforementioned questions…
…but if you are experienced with the issue of having a passport whose pages are almost full and contains a work permit issued from a foreign country — even though the passport is not due to expire for several years — you are encouraged to please impart your knowledge and advice in the Comments section below.
Thank you in advance.
Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
