Why do you need a second passport and how to issue it

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In most cases, one document is enough for you, but sometimes two are more convenient.

How does a second passport work

The second passport is an optional but useful document. It can be issued if you already have one foreigner and you are allowed to travel outside the state. The second passport does not duplicate the first, but has independent validity - it has its own number and validity period. Therefore, when one passport runs out, the other continues to work. Here are some more features of this document:

• The second passport can only be biometric, valid for 10 years.
• Registration costs 5,000 rubles, but if you submit documents through "Gosuslugi", then you will receive a discount and pay 3,400 rubles.
• During the preparation of the second foreigner, the first is not taken away - you can use it as usual.
• Information about children is not entered in the passport; separate documents must be drawn up for them.

When it comes in handy

1. You are visiting conflicting countries

Some states are in conflict over disputed territories, religious and interethnic differences. For travelers, this is a problem: if you get a visa and visit one of the unfriendly countries, they may not be allowed to go to another. This is where visa conflicts can arise:

• Georgia and Abkhazia.
• Armenia and Azerbaijan. The countries are in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Cyprus, Greece and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The latter is an unrecognized state, Cyprus and Greece consider it their territory.
• Israel and Arab countries: Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen and Sudan.

The second passport allows you to hide information that you were in an unfriendly country, so you will not have any problems at the border.

2. You get visas to two countries at the same time

Sometimes you need to apply for two visas at once: one for work, the other for vacation. Or submit documents for obtaining a visa, and at this time make another trip.

Imagine heading to a robotics exhibition in South Korea, and immediately afterward to Spain at sea. With one foreigner, this will not work: you are either abroad, or give your passport to the consulate. Two documents solve the problem.

3. You have a valid visa, but there are no free pages in the first foreigner

The passport is valid until the expiration of the validity period. But there are situations when the deadline has not expired and there is an active visa in the passport, but there are no free pages. For example, you have “Schengen” for five years, but you cannot leave for Europe, because the border guard has nowhere to put a stamp. The second passport saves: it can be presented in the control zone along with the one in which the visa is pasted. You will be marked with a border crossing in a new document and a visa number will be entered.

To avoid such problems, use a passport with a visa to enter the corresponding state, and the second - to other countries. For example, if you have a passport with the right to visit the United States, present it there, and when flying to Montenegro or Turkey, give another document.

How to get a second passport

The passport is issued in the same way as usual. Documents can be submitted in person at the MIA department for migration issues and through the "Gosuslugi" portal. The second option is simpler and faster. If you issued your first passport there, the data will be loaded automatically, the site has autosave and a discount when paying state duty.

Step 1. Submitting an application

Go to the section "Services" → "Passports, registrations, visas" and click on "Foreign passport of a new sample".

You will be asked to select the age of the applicant and confirm that you are applying for a new document.

Then you will receive a short instruction, after which you can proceed to filling out the application. This requires the following documents:

• Russian passport;
• valid international passport;
• certificate of change of surname, name or patronymic (if you changed them);
• military ID, if any (for men 18-27 years old);
• permission from the command (for the military personnel of the Russian Federation);
• color or black-and-white photography (can be taken with a smartphone).

The most time-consuming part is to indicate information about the place of work for the last 10 years, so a work book will come in handy. If you served, studied or did not work - all this must be indicated in the questionnaire.

When you get to the seventh point, "Design and purpose of receipt", select the line "In addition to the existing". This means that you want to get a second passport.

After filling out the questionnaire, choose a convenient point for submitting an application and click "Send". You will be assigned a date when you need to come to the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for fingerprinting and photographing.

Step 2. Payment of state duty

After submitting the application, you will receive a message about the payment of the state duty. This is the same process as any purchase on the Internet: enter your card details, CVV / CVC and a six-digit code from the bank.

Step 3. Removing biometric data

At the appointed time, come with the documents to the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The address will be indicated in the letter. You will be fingerprinted and photographed for your passport. Better not to be late: then you will stand in line. If for some reason you could not come at the specified time, you can visit the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs within six months, taking the necessary documents with you.

Step 4. Obtaining a passport

You will receive a message about the readiness of the passport by mail. Sometimes it does not come, so for reliability, check your personal account on "State Services". Upon receipt of the document, you must present a Russian passport.

How to use a second passport

1. Do not take both passports on a trip unless necessary

This makes it easier to figure out where the stamps are, and not to confuse documents at the border. One more argument for: if you suddenly lose your bag of papers, you will restore only one foreigner, and the second will remain unharmed.

2. Buy tickets for any passport, if both have a visa

When checking in for a flight, airline employees may be asked to present a document with a valid visa. It's okay if it's not the one you entered when booking.

Andrey Kaymachnikov Head of Ticket Service "Biletik Aero"

3. Do not confuse international passports

If you bought air tickets for one foreign passport, but by mistake took another with you without a visa, you will not be allowed on the flight. Buy different covers for documents or put special marks on which you can quickly distinguish them.