How Post-it Notes Can Extend the Life of Your Passport

For frequent international travelers, there are few encounters more quietly frustrating than when a customs officer stamps a completely blank page with a flagrant disregard for visa space.

Visas require at least a full blank page — and some countries may require between two and four blank pages.

Related: What Your Passport Color Really Means

But there’s one clever trick using common office supplies that can keep passport pages pristine for future visas.

Chris Chamberlin of Australian Business Traveler recommended saving blank space in your passport with two Post-it Notes and a gently written note.

Stick a note on each page you would like to remain blank with a polite and concise message to the effect of “stamp elsewhere.” In his passport, Chamberlin has written “Please kindly stamp on any other page. Saving space for one visa.”

“I’ve been travelling with these in my passport for over a year now to preserve my last remaining ‘double blank’ page, and all the passport officers I’ve encountered have been most obliging,” Chamberlin wrote.

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Chamberlin estimates that the trick will have extended his passport’s life by about two years.

Because the Post-it Notes are impermanent and easily removed, they do not break any passport regulations. And, if worst comes to worst, the immigrations officer can rip off the Post-it and stamp wherever they please.

This Passport Is So Rare, Only 500 People on Earth Have It

It’s well-known that some passports are more powerful than others. Take, for example, the Japanese passport, one of the most powerful global entry tools on Earth. Japanese passport holders can visit 189 countries around the world without needing a visa.

And while being able to visit more countries is cool, what may be even cooler is being a card-carrying member of the world’s most exclusive passport: the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

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According to the Independent, the Catholic order, which had its sovereignty recognized by Pope Paschal in 1113, is home to the world’s rarest passport. In fact, only 500 of these passports are in circulation around the globe right now, according to the Order.

Diplomatic passports, according to the Sovereign Order of Malta, are granted only to “the members of the Sovereign Council (the government), to heads and members of its Diplomatic Missions (as well as their consort and minor children), and – with very few exceptions – to senior figures in charge of a special missions within the Order of Malta.”

The passports only remain valid for four years and are strictly linked to the duration of a given assignment by the Order.

The Sovereign Order of Malta maintains diplomatic relations with 106 states, meaning all of these states accept the diplomatic passports as a valid form of identification. The passports even include biometric features and are compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

However, there are a few places that don’t accept the passport as a valid form of ID for travel. The United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand don’t allow the passport, according to News.com, along with countries with similar passport rules.

Currently, the Sovereign Order of Malta is active in 120 countries, where it helps to care for people in need through its medical, social, and humanitarian works. The Order is especially involved in helping people living in the midst of armed conflicts and natural disasters. It is also a permanent observer status at the United Nations.

Additionally, as the Order noted on its site, “It is neutral, impartial and apolitical.” As the Independent explained, the order is currently made up of over 13,500 knights, dames, and chaplains along with 80,000 permanent volunteers and 25,000 employees, so obtaining one of those 500 coveted passports is even rare among this limited crowd.

What Is a Passport Card? (Video)

Introduced in 2008, the passport card is a relatively inexpensive personal identification card that can be used in place of a passport book or driver’s license at land and sea entry points to the United States. It is not, however, sufficient for international travel by air—something to keep in mind when you dash to the airport hoping for a last-minute getaway.

But if you’re planning a road trip to Mexico or Canada from the United States, a passport card is all you need to get there. (The card was a post-9/11 brainchild of the U.S. State department and Department of Homeland Security, and is part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.)  If you don’t yet have a passport, you can snag a passport card in person, at any of the accepted locations, using a standard form. You’ll need to bring substantial personal identifying information, or a combination of a couple different ones, so don’t forget them.

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One of the benefits of the card, for those on a tight budget and those with large families needing to cross these borders frequently, is that—at $55 ($40 for kids) versus $135 ($105 for kids)—it’s a fraction of the cost of a full passport book. (The state department even has a handy-dandy page for breaking down the distinctions.)

Related: Should You Get an RFID Blocking Wallet and Passport Cover?

Passport cards also are used in Ready Lanes, a dedicated primary vehicle lane for travelers entering the States at border points of entry. Because the card contains a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, which connects it to stored records in government databases, it can pull up information quickly on your biographical data, other photos, etc.

Passport cards also come in handy if you’re boating to the Caribbean or to Bermuda. Since it’s physically smaller than the passport book by a long shot, it’s easy enough to tuck into your wallet alongside your Global Entry or TSA Precheck card—and as handy to pack up as, say, a tiny polka-dotted bikini or a pair of shorts in case you wanted pull a Y Tu Mamá También and start driving south.

Just remember: Land and sea travel only. Not air! Because there’s nothing as sad as a weekend getaway, foiled.

Alex Van Buren is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @alexvanburen.

Celebrity Kids Who Have More Passport Stamps Than You Do

Princess Charlotte turned one year old May 2, marking another milestone for the royal family this year. In honor of her big day, mom Kate Middleton and dad Prince William released several photos of the tot walking with a toy stroller at her parent’s home in Norfolk. And though she was enjoying some playtime at home, the youngster has already started racking up air miles with a recent trip to the French Alps.

If her big brother Prince George is any indicator of how many passport stamps she’ll soon have, then Charlotte could be a jet-setter before her next birthday. At just six months old, George enjoyed a tropical getaway to the Caribbean island of Mustique and later joined his parents on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand—all before he turned one.

Of course, Charlotte and George aren’t the only tots with frequent flier miles that could rival any businessman’s. Many of Hollywood’s offspring have traveled around the world before they were even out of diapers.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s daughter North has been to St. Bart’s, Mexico, Vail, New York, Thailand, and even Israel.  North’s pal Blue Ivy has traveled to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Paris, and Spain with mom Beyonce and dad Jay Z. Likewise, Suri Cruise has traveled France, Italy, Spain, and Brazil with parents Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise in her few short years on this planet.

And who could forget the Jolie-Pitt kids? Members of that six pack can check off London, Australia, the Galapagos, Turks and Caicos, Tokyo, and New Orleans—just to name a few.

So, in honor of Charlotte and her globetrotting future, we’ve rounded up the most well-traveled celebrity kids who have likely already crossed off most of your bucket list destinations.

Click through to see these jet-setting tots. 

Customs and immigration

Customs and immigration are among the most daunting aspects of overseas travel. It can sometimes feel like a bureaucratic nightmare, whether you are trying to parse another travel country’s requirements on an outdated website or are waiting with your visa application at a consulate.

Let Travel + Leisure walk you through the process, from where you get your passport photo taken and printed to what souvenirs you can bring home with you to the United States. (We’re sorry to report that the answer is most definitely not cheese, no matter how good it tastes.) With T+L, you’ll discover it’s easier than ever to update your passport, submit your visa application, and get ready to travel.
 
T+L’s features on customs and immigration will answer all of your burning questions — yes, even the obvious ones.

Here, travelers can find out precisely how long they can stay in another country without a visa (in Europe, 90 days) and determine whether or not they need to pack a passport (usually yes, even to Canada and Mexico).

Ever wondered if U.S. citizens need a visa to visit Vietnam? (Yes.) Or what the penalty is for overstaying your tourist visa in Thailand? (A hefty fine and often jail time.)

We also provide regular news coverage on topics that impact travelers, like the ever-shifting policy on travel to Cuba.

For readers who procrastinate, or love to plan last-minute getaways, we have detailed information about getting under-the-wire passport renewals. And for frequent fliers, there are in-depth how-to guides to speeding up customs and immigration processes (try applying for a NEXUS Pass if you head to Canada often, or Global Entry if you’re always traveling overseas).
 
In 2015, the United Nations World Tourism Organized announced the lowest-ever visa requirements for global travel: 39 percent of travelers around the world were able to do visit a foreign country without visas. In 2008, that statistic was only 23 percent.

Meanwhile, in 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court debated the legality of the Trump administration’s travel ban and the European Commission debated dissolving passport-free travel within the 26 Schengen states. In a rapidly changing global climate, stay on top of the latest news with T+L.