In today’s life, many people may not know how to deal with additional registration photos. These extra pictures are often left in the drawer. However, you may notice people are still taking new pictures, which is uneconomical and environmentally unfriendly. Part of the reason is that different documents or certificates have different requirements on the picture background, photo validity or photo size. As a result, the additional printed pictures seem useless and people have to take new ones.
For passport photos, this problem also exists. Since the passport photo is used to recognize your identity, there is a limit on its period of validity to ensure the picture preserves your recent look, which varies among different countries. Therefore, the validity of the photo is extremely important and deserves attention. Does this mean that the extra passport photos printed out are completely worthless? In fact, this is not the case. The extra passport photos also can be reused under certain circumstances so that we don’t need to pay extra money to take photos again and also cut down on the use of the paper. In the following passage, we are going to discuss the different situations when your passport photo can and can’t be reused.
When can your passport photo be reused?
Whether you can reuse the passport photo depends on the purpose of reusing the picture. Here are some common cases where you can reuse your passport photos.
Apply for other certificates
If you try to reuse it for other certificates or documents such as a driver’s license, an ID card, a police report, a telephone subscription, a SPA, or a swimming pool membership card, it is acceptable only if these pictures meet the basic requirement.
Another good choice to reuse the extra passport photos is to put them on the luggage tags when you travel, which serves as proof of your ownership of the luggage, preventing you from losing your bags. If you are still studying in school, the extra passport photos can be used on your school ID card, health card, other educational documents and so on.
Lost or damaged passport within 6 six months
In addition to the above-mentioned situations, you must want to know whether you can reuse the passport picture for the passport again. The answer is yes but it is conditional. It only can happen when your passport is lost, stolen, or damaged. Then you need to apply for a replacement. In this case, if your lost passport was issued less than 6 months ago, then you will be able to reuse the same passport photos which are still in good condition to reapply for the passport without taking new ones. However, if you dropped your passport more than six months ago, you have to take new photos instead of reusing old ones in accordance with the validity requirement for passport photos.
When can’t your passport photo be reused?
Can passport photos be reused at any time? The answer is negative. Here are some situations when you can’t reuse the passport photos.
Replace a passport more than 6 six months old
For example, if you plan to reuse the old passport photo for renewing the passport, you should pay attention to the specific requirement. As we mentioned above, the passport photo has a period of validity, which varies among different countries. Taking the United States as an example, the passport photo is only valid for six months. If you took the passport photo more than six months ago, you are required to take a new one when you apply for or renew the passport. Passport photos older than six months can’t be reused in this case. The reason is that the passport picture should show your current real look to avoid recognition failure. Even though you keep the digital version of the passport picture, you can’t reuse it as long as it expires.
Except for that, if your extra passport photos are damaged, stained or faded for some reason, you can not reuse them for passport renewal or application because your face is not visible anymore. In this situation, you need to take new pictures.
Significant facial surgery or trauma
In addition to that, even though your passport photo is still valid, you can’t reuse it for passport renewal or application if you have suffered plastic surgery or serious face trauma recently, which may make your appearance not compliant with the previous picture anymore.
Adding or removing large face tattoos
Tattoos also need to be paid attention. You can’t reuse the passport photo for renewing the passport after removing or adding large tattoos. If your appearance changes a lot because you gain or lose dramatic weight, you can’t reuse the old photos for your passport either. That is because governmental regulations require the passport picture to preserve your current look. However, minor changes don’t affect the validity of the picture. So you can reuse your passport picture which is taken within six months if you just got a new haircut or have a beard.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the passport photo can be reused under different conditions. You can use them on ID cards, driver’s licenses, police reports or educational documents. At the same time, you need to be careful to reuse a passport photo for renewing the passport. You can only use the same picture to reapply for the passport when your passport gets lost, stolen or damaged on the condition that your passport was issued less than six months ago. However, when the pictures are older than six months or your appearance has changed greatly due to some reasons, you can’t reuse old passport photos for passport renewal or application. Please bear in mind the validity requirement of the passport picture and the importance of the consistency of the photo and your appearance. With the above-listed tips, your extra passport photos will gain value again. Whether it’s for the sake of saving money or being environmentally friendly, we urge people to reuse old passport photos as much as possible.