Generally speaking, if a passport has been mistakenly left in the washing machine, the laminate will begin to lift away and this is reason enough for it to be considered “unfit for purpose”. In addition, “washed” passports will often have damaged paper and some of the writing may appear unclear or illegible.
Passports that have water damage can no longer be used and should be replaced. You must apply in person to replace a damaged passport at an acceptance facility or at a passport agency.
In most cases, if a passport's appearance has been fundamentally affected, it contains a damaged chip, or has incurred other superficial wear and tear, it will not be accepted as a travel document. Therefore, significant passport damage includes: Water damage. Faded pages.
You could dry the pages with paper towels as much as possible, then hang it to dry on a string with the pages spread out or separated by bits of paper towel- don't leave them in contact with each other wet or they may stick together. Change the paper towels for dry ones periodically as it dries.
It is important that: There are no tears or cuts in the pages, especially the photo page. Everything on the photo page is legible and clear. There are no marks across your photo or in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) on the photo page.
Damaged passport
There's discolouration of the bio-data page. There's chemical or ink spillage on any page. There are missing or detached pages. The chip or antenna shows through the end paper on the back cover for the new style e-passports.
If it's just a minor corner you should be fine. But if your whole passport fell into water, you should get a new one.
Humidity and water can harm the pages of your passport. You can travel with a waterproof cover over your passport to better protect it and make sure you store it in a dry, safe environment.
Read and verify the NFC chip
The ReadID Me app (previously known as NFC Passport Reader) reads and verifies the NFC chip embedded in your electronic passport and other ICAO compliant identity documents (ePassports, or in ICAO Doc 9303 terminology, electronic Machine Readable Travel Documents, eMRTD).
written marks or lines. unauthorised stamps such as souvenir tourist ones. water damage or mould. altered or missing pages.
If you have a passport with a chip and an NFC enabled phone, you should be able to scan your passport chip. It might not be scanning because: you haven't aligned the NFC reader on your phone with your passport; or. your passport chip might not be working.
The bio data (personal details) page is at the front of the passport and located on page 2. The passport chip is located in the cover of the passport.
Other windows reveal the antenna for the passport chip, which is embedded in the photo page. The holder's photo appears in colour on the observations page, facing the photo page. Polycarbonate is more durable than laminated paper.
Watermark: an essential element of robust passport design
It appears as various shades of light and dark when viewed by transmitted light, caused by density variations in the paper.
An e-Passport contains an electronic chip. The chip holds the same information that is printed on the passport's data page: the holder's name, date of birth, and other biographic information. An e-Passport also contains a biometric identifier.
Get to the stain as soon as possible. Combine 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/4 cup of water in a bowl. Mix them together with a whisk or fork until a paste-like consistency is achieved.
Allow a minimum of six weeks to get a new passport or renew your old one. Where possible, don't book travel without a valid passport. If you're likely to travel in the next six months, you should apply or renew now.
Can you mirror your images? No. The officials who have the power to accept or reject your passport photo have been advised to keep an eye out for people submitting mirrored pictures.
A damaged passport is one which the customer cannot use as proof of identity because of its condition. damage or discolouration to any part of the passport caused, for example, by: water. chemical or ink spills.
All smart devices with these capabilities can use NFCREAD Mobile Passport Reader application. NFCREAD Mobile Passport reader also performs its reading in Chip passports. To read the Chip Passport, you must first have NFC feature on your Android device.
What does a biometric passport look like? The simplest way to tell if your passport is biometric is by looking at the cover. If there's a small, gold camera logo at the bottom, then it's biometric.