# Do you have a Passport? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584 "2014-09-05T14:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/1 "2014-09-05T14:49:36Z")
Do you have a passport, currently valid? Proper passport, not a border-accepted ID card or similar. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/2 "2014-09-05T14:52:42Z")
Got one a few years ago when there was a possibility I’d have to travel to Canada on business. The trip never materialized, though. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/3 "2014-09-05T14:56:06Z")
I answered yes before seeing the ‘currently valid’ thing - I’m not sure exactly when my passport was last renewed - at least five years ago, probably more. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/4 "2014-09-06T00:24:54Z")
Yes, I had to have extra pages added a few years ago. My current one expires in a couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/5 "2014-09-06T00:33:38Z")
[Yes.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=714525) I got mine in January so that there would be one less hiccup in the way of lucrative foreign postings after I graduated. So far, I’ve moved from Oshawa to Peterborough, a distance of around 60 km. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/6 "2014-09-06T00:34:24Z")
Got a couple of them. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/7 "2014-09-06T00:56:25Z")
Mine expired a couple years ago, and I haven’t gotten around to getting it renewed. I’m not planning to leave the country any time soon, but will probably take care of it ‘soon’ anyway…you never know what might come up… ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/8 "2014-09-06T00:56:37Z")
Yes, since I was 12 or so. Just sent it off for renewal, in fact. I use it fairly infrequently for traveling out of the country, but it’s just as handy for filling out I-9’s and the like without having to dig up and haul around birth certificates and social security cards or whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/9 "2014-09-06T01:24:34Z")
Yes, a US and an Australian one. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/10 "2014-09-06T01:57:22Z")
I got one when I was nine for travel abroad the year I was ten. Renewed it when it was due, and used that one when I was 18. Renewed that one, and after that, have just always maintained an up-to-date one. It has been a long time since I traveled overseas, but when the rules about needing one for Canada or Mexico changed, I was glad I had one at the ready. Also, I have lost my driver’s license a couple of times, and it is very easy to get it replaced if you have a valid passport, since a passport is not ID a person normally carries. It’s also good for employment, because you don’t need two separate things: for US employment, you must show proof of eligibility to work (a green card, a SSN card, or a US birth certificate) and a photo ID as well. A passport serves for both. I think I’m on my fifth passport. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/11 "2014-09-06T02:24:49Z")
I’ve had a valid passport for over 35 years, every since I was a child. When growing up in Pakistan in the 1980s it seemed prudent to have an exit strategy. When living in the US as a permanent resident, it was required as a condition of my green card. Since I’ve been a US citizen, I’ve traveled abroad at least once a year for business or personal reasons. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/12 "2014-09-06T02:55:49Z")
Yes. Since I was born. Got some nice well-used ones, even had to add pages to one 10-year run. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/13 "2014-09-06T02:58:35Z")
Got one when I went to Belgium and France, but didn’t bother to renew it because I wasn’t planning to go anywhere other than Canada and at the time I didn’t need a passport for that. I still have it, it’s just a few decades old is all. And no longer valid. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/14 "2014-09-06T03:34:25Z")
Yes, just renewed it. Despite the gov’ment requiring it at the US/Canada border, it’s still unstamped and pristine. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/15 "2014-09-06T04:50:52Z")
It’s expired. ☹ I will be renewing it soon. Not because I’m going anywhere, but my son is travelling in Europe next year and I feel like if my passport isn’t current something will happen and I will need to go over there and I will be delayed. If I do renew my passport so I can travel at a moments notice, everything will be just fine. ---
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/16 "2014-09-06T05:26:24Z")
I had one but it is now long out of date. When we win the lottery I will get another one. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/17 "2014-09-06T08:29:00Z")
No. Mine expired in 1987. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/18 "2014-09-06T08:36:05Z")
> [@MrsTime](#): > > I had one but it is now long out of date. When we win the lottery I will get another one. Get in line. ETA: No, I’ve never had one. All of the times I’ve been out of the country have been with the military. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/19 "2014-09-06T08:36:24Z")
Yes I have an expired US passport that my wife bugs me to renew, mostly because aside from a permanent residency card it is my only form of ID. I drag my butt because of the $110 USD charge for a new one and because I don’t want to waste time going to the US embassy. On the rare occasion some store clerk fusses when I use it as ID with a credit card I say it is still me, one time a bitch went so far as to call her manager for like $50 USD worth of groceries and the manager said WTF it expired a month ago run the damn transaction lol. EDIT:Before someone takes me to task for calling her a bitch for follwing policy, she started loudly exclaiming this is not valid! You aren’t even legally in this country! and other shit. I was like stick to your job and avoid immigration law, I have permanent residency. She refused to look at or say a word to me after the manager chewed her out, who knows what her deal was. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584/20 "2014-09-06T09:59:03Z")
Yes, have never been without a valid US passport. Almost all of my family lives outside of the USA, so at the very least I need to have the ability to travel overseas at a moment’s notice (elderly parent, etc) or just to visit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-passport/697584.md?page=2)