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I have a slightly damaged passport (Indian) with valid US and Schengen visa. Now, I was advised by the VFS to get the passport re-issued after getting visa.

Recently I also got married, so I would prefer to include my spouse's name in the re-issued passport as well. Now, what does re-issuance of a new passport mean exactly? Does the new passport also come with visas stamped? If not, then do I travel with the old (damaged) passport with valid visas and a new re-issued empty passport (just for stamping by the immigration officers when I travel) ? Or how does it work exactly?

Ali Awan
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Tanushree Banerjee
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  • You have to apply for new visas. – Augustine of Hippo May 15 '19 at 13:21
  • I am curious to know what a VFS is. – Richard Beasley May 15 '19 at 13:33
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    @RichardBeasley VFS is a company that provides visa processsing services (among other things) for many countries – Chris H May 15 '19 at 13:41
  • @user56513 can you provide a reference to support that statement (especially considering that the damage is "slight")? If so, you should post an answer. – phoog May 15 '19 at 14:47
  • @phoog A new passport (with new name) does not come with visas stamped. If you want visas in the new passport, you have to apply for new visa. It has nothing to do with the damage. Some countries allow transfer of visas however with a name change, that’s not an option. – Augustine of Hippo May 15 '19 at 14:57
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    @user56513 "if you want visas in the new passport," of course. But what about using the visa in the old passport, in combination with the new passport? Many jurisdictions allow this, and the US and Schengen are both among them. There doesn't seem to be a name change here, just an adding of a spouse to the passport -- but that shouldn't affect the visas, I wouldn't think. – phoog May 15 '19 at 14:58
  • @user56513 I don't know how India (or most other countries for that matter) effect your married status in their passports but if the birth name(s) from your old passport are no longer present in the new passport that would be one of the specific cases where a new visa application is probably necessary. IMHO that is unlikely though: the passports that I have seen only add an entry with the name of a spouse to your existing personal details and don't remove (parts of) your birth names, regardless of how after marriage you can use and be addressed with (only) the name of your new spouse – HBruijn May 15 '19 at 15:42
  • but if the birth name(s) from your old passport are no longer present in the new passport that would be one of the specific cases where a new visa application is probably necessary That is exactly what I was referring to. I was not referring to adding your husbands name to your passport. In most jurisdictions women choose their husbands last names upon marriage. @HBruijn – Augustine of Hippo May 15 '19 at 16:02
  • @phoog Even the USA recommends you get a new visa. upon name change, including after marriage. I think that is the safest option – Augustine of Hippo May 15 '19 at 16:03
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    @user56513 But there's no name change, only the addition of the spouse's name. The spouse's name isn't even on the ID page; it's on a supplementary data page. I don't see any reason why this would trigger the US recommendation that you mention. – phoog May 15 '19 at 16:09
  • Thank you guys for the discussion and clarification. Btw @RichardBeasley VFS= Visa Facilitation Services. – Tanushree Banerjee May 16 '19 at 09:58
  • @TanushreeBanerjee What did you end up doing? I am in a similar situation – ajp Feb 08 '20 at 10:21

1 Answers1

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Does the new passport also come with visas stamped?

No.

Just out of curiosity, how did you expect that to work?
A passport is issued by your own country and the visa are not, those are issued by other countries. So how would your country organize that for you and why should they?

If not, then do I travel with the old (damaged) passport with valid visas and a new re-issued empty passport (just for stamping by the immigration officers when I travel) ? Or how does it work exactly?

Yes, that is exactly how that works.

Your old passport gets invalidated but you may need to explicitly request that the invalidated passport is returned to you, preferably with the pages containing valid visa undamaged, as the typical procedures to invalidate passports seems to be to punch a couple of very big holes in them. (See for instance What should I do with my expired passport? )

Usually the visa in an old passport will remain valid. Specifics are dependent on the countries that issue the visa and your own new passport.
See for instance specific Q&A's already present here:

What happens to visas that last longer than a passport? ,
Can I travel to Canada with valid visa on old/expired passport? ,
Valid Vietnam tourist visa in old passport,
Valid Indian visa in an expired passport etc. etc.

HBruijn
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    I would note that depending on the level of damage, it might no longer be possible to use the old visa. I imagine that some countries might consider that to be true even if the visa itself is undamaged. I would at least expect that to be true if either the ID page or the visa page were detached from the passport. – phoog May 15 '19 at 14:45
  • @phoog See this other question by the OP that shows that in this case the damage appears only minor and to the cover, not the ID and visa pages. – HBruijn May 15 '19 at 15:32