I have just had my United Kingdom passport renewed. The old one was sent to the UK with my application, but was not returned or attached to the renewed one. My problem is that my residency permit is in my old passport. Do I have to arrange and pay for the visa to be transferred to the new passport for it to be legal? GH, Dubai
The UK Passport Authority will return the old passport separately and it usually arrives a few days after the new one. GH has subsequently advised that this is the case.
It is not unusual for residents in this country to have their current visa in a passport that has expired.
In this case the individual must travel with both passports, preferably joined by an elastic band, so that officials can see they have both a current passport and a current residency visa.
Just keep them together and if you are required to provide a copy as proof of identity, make sure you provide copies of the information pages from both passports, as the residency visa will show the old passport number.
When you come to get your visa renewed, it will be placed in the current passport and you simply remove the old one.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with more than 20 years’ experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek appropriate independent legal advice.
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