To Apply for a New Passport or Not to Apply for a New Passport?

If your passport expires in six months or less, you will need a new one. Non-negotiable. 

But what if your passport expires in, say, 11 months?  Passports are expensive and, depending on your location, can take a while to be issued.   Whilst certain visas are issued for a specified period, visas will not be issued beyond the expiration date of your passport. 

This can be a problem if you have been offered a job for 24 months, but your passport expires in 12 months.  You will find yourself in a position where you will not only have to get a new passport, but also apply for a new visa in 12 months’ time.

At GHS we recommend that you replace any passport with 12 months or less validity at the start of the recruitment process for you and family members travelling with you.

We also ask that you always let us know before you renew a passport so that we do not make a visa application prior to receiving your new passport.  If an applicant applies for a visa with one passport and subsequently renews it, the visa must be transferred into the new passport before travel. 

This can take up to six weeks and can delay travel plans. So, check your passports sooner rather than later when considering a move, as an expiring passport can be a costly oversight.