so i came back from my easter holidays yesterday and left my handbag in the dining room and went directly to bed (flight arrives at 6am!). while i was sleeping my lovely cat managed to pinch a hole in a water bottle i had inside...which resulted to everything getting wet...including my passport (which was in a separate pocket with zipper, mind you)
i left it to dry and basically there is no damage in the outside page or the page with my data. but some of the inside pages are looking a bit wavy in shape, if you know what i mean.
i have to go to the US in exactly one month for work and i am freaking out. getting a new passport here is a nightmare (i did it in november- took the embassy 3 and a half months to have it done), so i would have to go back to greece to do it (surprisingly, it's done there in 3 working days). however, that will cost quite a lot of money (flight was around 1000 francs when i checked yesterday) and precious holiday time.
greek embassy is closed tomorrow, as it is easter monday in greece. i was thinking of calling the american one and ask them if they could have a look at my passport and let me know if it is acceptable for travelling.
any suggestions/experiences? this trip is very important so i don't want to risk missing it! so if i have to travel to greece i will do it, but i was hoping there might be some things to do before resorting to that.
thanks in advance!
I think if you're really worried, having the US embassy look at it isn't a bad idea (assuming you can get in). However, if your personal information page is fine and anything that is scanned looks fine, I doubt it would be too much of a problem. Good luck!
thank you! yes, i will try to get an appointment in the embassy but i fear i won't be very successful. if i didin't know it got wet, i probably wouldn't be able to tell; however i'm wondering whether there is a possibility that chip inside got damaged. if i was travelling to europe i wouldn' t stress too much.. we'll see!
I had the same problem. I left a glass of water next to it and my passport decided to go for a swim. I got stressed over it and then i said i dont care whatever. I was a bit worried because i had a flight to the UK coming up but everything was fine at the end. Nobody asked a question.
I dont know if its going to be different for the US though
Surely the USA Emassies have an Emergency No. for contact in these
circumstances and there will be a suitable remedy! have you tried the
Emergency Lines?
gata, thanks for sharing your story! sounds reassuring, but US might be a different story
ardneham, thanks for the feedback. i don't think my situation qualifies as an emergency. i travel in 4 weeks, which theoretically gives me time to replace the passport if needed. also, even if it was an emergency it would rather be an issue for the greek embassy i would think...
I would think that as long as the pages are legible and intact, a little water damage won't be much of a big deal. Let it air dry and then stack a bunch of dictionaries/heavy books on top to flatten it out a bit. Of course, post 9/11 US is different, but I remember having mine partially burned and successfully re-entered the country with it at some point in the 80s. Of course, the immigration guy asked me how it happened and told me to get it replaced asap but....as long as they can see your picture and the number, they probably won't deny you entry. Best to check with the embassy though. If you're not American...they might be a bit more fussy about it.
If the information page shows even the slighest sign of separating, you should get the passport replaced. If the pages are not separating and are otherwise legible, you should be fine. My passport looks like it's been through the wars (lots of time in humid Asian countries) and no one has ever given it a second glance.
thanks people, really appreciate your feedback!
no, there is no sign of separating at all and everything is completely legible. it really doesn't look that it had this accidnet, apart from the "wavy" pages (which i hope to straighten out under fat books). i^m not an american citizen, but hopefully the embassy would give me some time (i do cry easily :P)
Try a cool (cool!) iron on the wavy pages and they will look as good as new ... I often iron paper dress patterns and it is actually hard to burn paper (if you are brisk with the iron) and the results are beautiful!
I thought modern passports had a microchip in them, I doubt a hot iron will do it any good, the picture & data are on th chip, so even if the passport is somewhat worn, the info is still there.
Yes it is a total nightmare to get a Greek Passport, do sympathise, it is so difficult to just get an appointment with embassy outside of Greece
If you are near the airline office that you will be using, perhaps take your passport to them for their opinion?
good luck
thank you guys! i wouldn't use the iron in fear of destroying the chip inside or burning the thing. (although i thik the advice for the iron was meant for the wavy pages and not the data page) in any case, i have not used an iron in years
thanks for the tip of asking the airline, will definately consider this as well (even if it means a trip to zürich)
yes, getting an appointment in the embassy is a nightmare and being there is a test for nerves, as somehow you feel you've been transported back to an even more bureaucratic greece than the actual one!
Yes that is what I meant - because you did say that the data page was fine but it was the inside pages that were wavy ...
A cool iron would do it so no possibility of burning (unless you leave it standing on it for a few minutes) but as it sounds like you do not have an iron ... well there we are .. but it is only with the addition of heat that you will get rid of the marks that the waviness is making ... but I suspect that is being a little fussy and that you will be fine
i do have an iron (surprisingly) thank you very much! i just don't use it or trust myself with it! :P
Try ironing. But that won't help if there is a problem through the chilp having being damaged by water. So take your passport into the consulate office and ask them to check for you. Don't mention the wavy pages - jus see if they notice them though.
If you do have to go back to Greece for a new passport, there are currently flights available for no more than 406 chf return to Athens from Zurich, that would get you there and back before your date for going to the USA. ( I just checked one random date on Swiss Air. You may find cheaper flights than that.
thank you. unfortunately i come from thessaloniki and the flights are more expensive to go there...
Swiss show a 351chf return from Zurich to Thessalonika - I am quickly looking at dates that give you three days there, for getting the new passport, before flying back again, so don't know if this is the cheapest possibility. Nor have I checked flights from Geneva at all. But, I imagine there is a possibility of having a new passport couriered to you in Bern, even if you have to go to Thessalonika to actually apply for it, so may not actually need the three days there. ( as long as you have an alternative travel document for the travel back.)
thank you! so nice of you to look. there are flights to thessaloniki also from basel with easy jet- but leave very early in the morning which would mean i have to spend the night before there.
when i looked yesterday i found only very expensive flights with swiss but- in all honesty- i didn't look at all the possible dates as i was getting a bit upset.
i do have an id that i can use to travel back. i can give the authorisation to my parents to collect the passport and have it couried back to me, which i will probably end up doing.
thanks again
I wouldn't worry about it. My passport looks like it has had some serious disagreement with a pitbull. The first page with my pic and infos is almost torn away. The next page with my signature has 2 immigration stamps because it is almost full and there is hardly space for other stamps. I have pieces missing from other pages because certain countries think stapples are a feasible solution to attaching relevant visa information, the cover is faded and some letters totally disappeared.