Down to just 2 blank pages and just a couple with just one stamp. I've already added pages once, will they add pages again or should I just apply for a new passport. BTW - it is a US passport.

I've had it done twice, so at least two!

Interesting question: About a year ago I was minding my business having some lunch at the CX The Wing First Class Lounge and there was a gentleman next to my table who had pulled out his passport to look at. The passport was incredibly thick, it must have been as thick as a ipod. I made some chatter to him and I said there must be at least 8 additions to that passport. He laughs, replies no, there's 15. That's right FIFTEEN! He even let me count through the additions. It was a mess of visas, it was probably nearing 1,000 stamps.

Come to know, this gentleman was based in Taipei and his company had transferred him to Hong Kong, but since he had some children and had already settled down in Taiwan, he took it upon himself to commute each week for the past 3 yrs.

So, the number is at least 15 additions.

I've done it three times, although when I went to the embassy in Doha they told me that they wouldn't do it again (actually he said that they wouldn't do it more than twice). (This was after I made an appointment on line, filled out the form, drove there, went through all three separate security checkpoints, and waited some more. Of course it doesn't say on the form that there is a limit. )

There have been many posts on FlyerTalk about this subject, and members have reported all sorts of different experiences -- some say that three times is the limit, others have reported success with more than this.

US only allows 3 sets of extra pages. Each set contains 24 pages.

Source: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new...rts/extra.html

I think that applies for Taiwan Passports, 15*24=360 Thats a little bigger than the average paperback. haha

When does it expire? You have to pay for the extra pages, if the passport is going to expire in a year or two it may make more sense to renew now and try to get the one with the extra pages in it already.

It may not make sense to pay for extra pages, than a year down the road pay to renew it, it may be worth the extra $28 now (it's $110 to renew, $82 for extra pages) to get 10 years.

Love the name old vine zin by the way, well worth searching out.

I think this should settle the question of how many sets of pages can be added.



Although now with the new ripoff fee structure I do not believe it ever makes sense to add pages anymore. You might as well renew even if you passport is valid for another 8 years because adding pages at $82 for 24 pages costs you $3.41 per page whereas renewing your passport and requesting a 48 page passport yields 48 pages for $110 which is only $2.29 per page.

I had pages added twice to my previous passport, but last March I went to get more (with two years validity left);was told they are now looking at the condition of the passport and if it shows any page separation on previous additions they won't approve additional pages. I think its a move to be sure everyone has the newer passports with the chip on the front (which mine did not). I had to get a new one.

This gentleman was an American expat living in Taiwan, holding a U.S. passport.

I've had it done twice.

"Although now with the new ripoff fee structure I do not believe it ever makes sense to add pages anymore. You might as well renew even if you passport is valid for another 8 years because adding pages at $82 for 24 pages costs you $3.41 per page whereas renewing your passport and requesting a 48 page passport yields 48 pages for $110 which is only $2.29 per page. "

The math is right, but only if there are no visas inside to worry about replacing!

The visas from many countries last only as long as the current passport is valid (or less), so getting a new passport can be extremely expensive and inconvenient if one has already gone through the bureaucratic process of getting a visa from, say, Saudi Arabia or India or Brazil. Even a simple one like Chile's, while not requiring any annoying mail-in shenanigans in advance (it's done right at the airport upon arrival), is only good for one passport (and it's over a hundred bucks!).

So it's good to know that provided the original passport is in decent shape one can get multiple additions of visa pages.

Thanks to all you participated in this thread. It answered my question perfectly.

IIRC, if the visa is still valid, then you can present it with your new passport. At least, that's what I've heard regarding Indian and Brazilian visas.

That depends entirely on the country that issued the visa. US visas remain valid, for example, in an expired passport as long as the visa itself has not been damaged (e.g. by having its corner cut off when the passport was cancelled). But some visas do expire with the passport, whatever the date on the visa might say.

I had four additions to mine (1 done in BKK, 3 in SGN). It expired in 2010, so don't know if these rules apply to the new passports or not?

true nuff, that's why I only know of indian and brazilian visas. But the cost of getting a new passport doesn't inherently mean including get all new visas as well