Sparing passport pages from stamps?
 

Hello, all.

Since I now find myself traveling between China and HK at least 2x/month, my (US) passport is rapidly running out of stamp space. I plan on getting 24 more pages added next week, but this stop gap measure won't be so useful if I crank up the volume further (I'll need to get a new passport after I exhaust the extra pages).

There MUST be a way to address this issue on the Chinese side.

Advice appreciated.

E

I am afraid the only thing you can do is drawing thin pencil lines. That way I get 5 entries/exits on 1 page. They used to have lose leaflets to be stamped at the Zhuhai Macau border but stopped that a few years ago.

The pencil lines idea is great. Fortunately, they've been doing the 5 rows per page drill on their own recently, but when my passport was newish, this certainly wasn't the case (i.e. blank page, dead center, no problem). I also managed to get a stamp on one of my endorsement pages last year when exiting Viet Nam, but I haven't been able to convince the Chinese to follow this precedent yet.

24 pages x 5 stamps per side/2 sides = 240 stamps
average usage 2 stamps per month = 120 months

10 years

I think that should cover you for awhile.

24 pages actually means 12 pieces of paper.

I'm already at 48 pages, so your numbers work out coincidentally.

However, when I said "ramp things up", I'm talking about 5+ entries/exits per month, which means 1 page = 1 month.

As such, the combination of 24 additional pages (maximum allowed) and my 1.5 empty pages should buy me 25.5 months in theory. However, since I'll need to get a new (full page) PRC visa in 2015, I'd be down to 24.5 months.

Furthermore, I travel to other passport stamping countries 5x per year, some of which don't seem to give a damn about conserving page space and/or have stamps that are too large to comply with the "5 rows/page" concept (btw, my current VN visa is an insert stapled to my passport... the entry/exit stamps go on the insert, which is a great thing; kudos to HK as well!). Basically, this chews up 2 complete pages per year, which reduces the aforementioned total to 20.5 months.

In any event, I'm pretty sure that the 24 additional pages will be good throughout the remaining validity period of my PRC visa.

I know a few foreigners in HK and Shenzhen who cross the border 20x per month. I will ask them how they play this game, and report back here.

I cross on average once per week and my passport is already 3 years old and not yet full, as I get stamps only on the Chinese side. My advantage is though that I don't need China Visa stickers.

If you load up your passport to the limit, then just pay for a new one and load that up.
No limit on how many you can keep buying because you ran out of pages. Plus each new one is good for ten years.

Naturally, I've thought about this option because the cost of a new 48-page (US) passport is less than twice the cost of inserting 24 pages into my existing passport. The thing is, traveling with 2 passports is kind of annoying, and invites unwanted additional scrutiny.

Obviously he has no interest in getting a new passport every year.

Many thanks for stating the obvious.

@anacapamalibu: While I always appreciate the vibrance that you add to our forum, suggestions along the lines of applying for new passports every year (or every three years) aren't especially useful.

In the rare cases in which I START threads in the China forum, I'm hopeful that the ensuing conversations are of value.

The instant case is an example of something that has evaded Google, which we potentially have the means to tackle if we put our heads together.

Moondog, last year I needed new pages so went to the Guangzhou Consulate -- but was told I had the maximum number of additions in my passport already (thanks TSA, 911, etc -- used to be you could add tons of 24 page thingies) so would need to apply for a new one. I was really in a quandary, as so many things in China for me use my passport number as my ID number (身份证号码). Credit cards, bank accounts, driver's license.

The guy finally gave me a break and agreed to put one more set of pages. That was also about the same time as HK started not stamping entries or exits.

I don't go to HK as frequently as you, so I might even make it to my passport's expiry date in 2018 (probably not -- I'm ready to start traveling more so maybe I can make it so 2015-16?) , but I still dread the day that my passport number changes and I have to change my ID number on so many things here here in China.

Wonder whether my drivers license number will change when I get a new passport?

The suggestion may be of value to those that have not achieved the level of "old china hand".
Maybe apply for HK citizenship?

Moondog, the Shanghai consulate told me that they will do up to two sets of extension pages provided the passport is in good condition. I checked a few others and they would not go beyond two extensions. Anyway, that should take a while to use up, especially if you use the pencil method to guide stamping and ask them not to stamp a new page.

I have seen first hand some people remove the adhesive full-page visas without a mark, I believe they were Brazil and Vietnam. I don't recommend that but I guess it could be an emergency option.

When a visa is applied upon landing right in front of me, I ask them to use the special endorsement pages which otherwise go unused. Many, but not all, do. If my passport is getting full I place two yellow post-its on each blank page and write "DO NOT STAMP- full page visa only" making them find a place on some other page. They get the message.

in the end, despite all my best efforts, my passports have not gone to their end of their 10 year expiration before I have had to apply for a new one. And then I do travel with two passports if the old one has a visa that I don't wish to re-apply for. Never had any extra scrutiny for that, even from US CBP when I applied for a Global Entry.

Don't see what else can be done.

There is no HK citizenship, just a Chinese one.
To qualify for a HK passport after naturalization requires right of abode in HK.
In order to qualify for naturalization in HK he would need right of abode first, which requires 7 years of ordinary residence.
After obtaining a HK passport he would need a visa to the US.
Probably better to spend some money on US passports.

By the way, travelling with 2 passports is no problem at all. I do it all the time and mostly have two visas for 2 countries in one passport each.

Even better a PRC passport.
With reciprocity I figure about 10 million are due.

Might as well be the first.

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