EC Question - What if you lost your old passport?

[apeterso925]

I'm getting organized for EC and I know they request your previous passport (in addition to your current one, of course) if your current one is not your first one.

What if you no longer have your old passport?

My original passport, which would have expired in 2010, sustained significant water damage (to the point of being unusable) and I had it replaced last year (March 2006).

The damaged passport was returned to me with the new replacement, but I destroyed it thinking I was being diligent. It seems I was actually being careless! So what now? I will be able to submit my current passport, valid from March 2006-March 2016.

Has anyone gone through a similar experience? Did you explain the absence of your previous passport? It doesn't seem that uncommon that someone might have lost their old passport and therefore can't send it - so I'm wondering what I should do to explain this in my EC application.

Thanks for any advice!

Amy

[gordon]

I'm not sure it's anything about which to worry. You are allowed to submit a copy of the face page of the prior passport (if indeed you made a copy, before it got waterlogged).

Otherwise, you should just indicate that the previous one 'is no longer with you' and explain in your letter that it 'was destroyed' and thus you were issued the current one by way of replacement. You can't submit something that no longer exists, no matter how it came to its demise (but don't tell them about that), and at any rate, the prior one was cancelled/invalidated and would be relevant only if, say, there were suspicions that you'd overstayed on a prior trip or something.

(By the way, I found out that US citizens won't need to register with the police on arrival - we get to save ourselves the 34 pounds and the bother.)

[apeterso925]

I don't have a copy, I didn't hold my passport nearly as dear then as I do now!

I may call our passport office, just to ask if there's any specific protocol, but you're right, I'm sure it's fine...I'm just so neurotic about this whole thing, I've taken to worrying 24/7

Good to know on registering with the police, thanks - is your source of information 100% reliable?

I'm not sure it's anything about which to worry. You are allowed to submit a copy of the face page of the prior passport (if indeed you made a copy, before it got waterlogged).

Otherwise, you should just indicate that the previous one 'is no longer with you' and explain in your letter that it 'was destroyed' and thus you were issued the current one by way of replacement. You can't submit something that no longer exists, no matter how it came to its demise (but don't tell them about that), and at any rate, the prior one was cancelled/invalidated and would be relevant only if, say, there were suspicions that you'd overstayed on a prior trip or something.

(By the way, I found out that US citizens won't need to register with the police on arrival - we get to save ourselves the 34 pounds and the bother.)

[gordon]

Here's the policy statement about registration with the police:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawand ... les/part10

... and then to find out whether you are a'relevant foreign national' to whom this policy re registration would apply:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawand ... /appendix2

I looked this up because my EC visa does not indicate the need to register with the police (even though, 12 years ago, my student visa, stamped at Heathrow, had so indicated). I conclude that we are subject to the rules at the point that the visa is issued, such that we need not keep checking the above website to see whether our country has been added, thus necessitating prostrating ourselves before the authorities at some later point.

G

[apeterso925]

Perfect - thanks

Here's the policy statement about registration with the police:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawand ... les/part10

... and then to find out whether you are a'relevant foreign national' to whom this policy re registration would apply:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/lawand ... /appendix2

I looked this up because my EC visa does not indicate the need to register with the police (even though, 12 years ago, my student visa, stamped at Heathrow, had so indicated). I conclude that we are subject to the rules at the point that the visa is issued, such that we need not keep checking the above website to see whether our country has been added, thus necessitating prostrating ourselves before the authorities at some later point.

G