If you’ve followed all the tips on our blogs, you’ll already have a set of perfect passport photos. But don’t just file them away in a drawer, because there are some good reasons why you should carry those extra passport photos when you’re on your travels.
Emergency travel documents
It can happen to any of us – you lose your passport, or, worse yet, have it stolen. You may even discover that your passport has expired before your return journey. In all these cases you’ll need emergency travel documents from the nearest Consulate, and to provide the documents the Consulate will need up to date passport photos.
Trekking in Africa
If you’re fulfilling your dream of communing with wildlife, you may find you need to provide a passport photo for your trekking permits; another clever use for those extra passport photos you had taken. We’ve also blogged about needing extra photos for visas, so carry them with you in a small Ziploc bag to protect against moisture damage.
Foreign adoption
If you can’t wait to bring home that bundle of joy from abroad, you’ll need to take some extra passport photos for identification purposes. These will be attached to all the relevant paperwork, and not having them to hand can hold up the process.
Luggage ID
Pimp your luggage labels with a passport photo. That way there’ll be no disputes at the baggage carousel because you can definitively prove that, yes, that shocking pink suitcase is yours. Just pop a passport photo inside your luggage label. Works well for carry-ons, too.
Police reports
Should the very worst happen and your partner or child goes missing on holiday, you’ll need to file a police report. This procedure can be extremely distressing and you’ll be asked to provide an up to date image for the police to work with. A spare passport photo can be the ideal means of identification thanks to its clarity of image.
Carry a digital copy
Finally, remember to have a digital copy stored on your phone as backup, in case you lose the hard copies.
