US Passport Renewal in Vietnam Explained

So you're running out of passport pages or your passport is expiring and you're abroad.

Well I just renewed my passport here in Vietnam so let me explain the process. It's quick and easy by the way, just follow the instructions (go here for Vietnam expats).

...and yes while I did it here in Vietnam, the process is pretty much the same where ever you are (as long as you're abroad).

Side note, before anything make sure you qualify for the mail in process:

If your most recent full validity passport was issued within the last 15 years and when you were age 16 or over, and the passport you are submitting is not damaged, you do not need to make an appointment. - source

Most people will quality unless you lost your passport, damaged your passport in some weird way or have not had a passport in over 15 years.

Step 1: Submit payment for the renewal process

Navigate to pay.gov.

This is where you submit payment for the visa renewal process. Do this first as you'll need this confirmation information when filling out the application.

"DO NOT pay fees at pay.gov unless ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ARE TRUE:

• You are a U.S. citizen adult applying outside the United States.
• You are renewing a 10-year validity passport book and/or card.
• The passport book and/or card were issued less than 15 years ago.
• The passport book and/or card are in your possession, have not been mutilated, damaged, lost, stolen, or subsequently found."

Basic stuff. Do you have your passport on you? It's not damaged? That's pretty much it.

Submit payment, once you successfully do that you'll be on a confirmation page stating that you successfully paid (print this page out as a pdf and save) and you'll also get an email confirmation.

Step 2: Complete the application for a US Passport

Go here for the application.

Use your brain and fill out the application correctly. Make sure to select travel size passport for obvious reasons and be aware that the address you put down on this application is where your new passport will be sent.

Don't be stupid and put your home address in America. If you're in Vietnam, Thailand etc then put your respective address of where you're living.

Passport card?

You'll see an option for a passport card, it's useful if you plan on going to Mexico frequently, the Caribbean and Canada.

Step 3: Get a 2x2 photograph of yourself

Attach one color passport photo (2”x 2” or 5cm x 5cm) with a white background

No, don't use some random passport photo you have from a few years. It needs to be a 2x2 photograph which admittedly is an odd size.

When I went to the passport photo place in Saigon, they assumed I wanted a standard passport photo size. I had to emphasis that I needed 2x2.

Step 4: Print out the the passport application as well as the payment receipt

Go to a local print shop and print out both your passport renewal application as well as your pay.gov payment receipt.

Make it nice and tidy, use a paperclip. I would avoid stapling the papers together. Put it all in a clear sheet paper holder.

Step 5: Send everything to your local consulate

You'll now need to send in: Your old passport, the application, that 2x2 photograph, and the receipt of payment.

Depending on your country where you're applying from abroad, they have different rules.

For Vietnam there are approved mail delivery carriers that will drop off your completed application or you can visit the consulate at approved times to drop off your application yourself.

I did the latter.

In the consulate they provided me with a big brown envelope to put everything inside. I again put my Vietnamese return address on this brown envelope and put it in the mailbox.

Done.

You can get this done in a morning. It's not a big deal.

4-6 weeks - Give yourself time

They publicly say 4-6 weeks to get your passport back, for me it took 1 month from start to finish.

Also, the 4-6 week thing starts when they get your application. Not when you submit it at the consulate. I thought it was when I submitted everything at the consulate.

I say this because I submitted everything on June 30th. On July 17th I got the email confirming that my application had been receive and that I should expect my passport to be returned back in 4-6 weeks from July 17th.

To be honest, I worried a bit.

Did I just make a massive mistake?

Am I going to have to go to the consulate and get an emergency visa so I can fly home to get a new passport because my new passport, IF it arrive in 6 weeks from July 17th would put me getting my new passport back a week at best (more like a handful of days) before my current entry stamp expires.

But everything worked out and now I'm set for travel for the next 5-7 years before I need another new passport.

I got the follow-up email a few days later confirming that my application had been processed and that my passport was in the mail.