Message to U.S. Citizens: U.S. Embassy London (May 25, 2021)

U.S. Embassy Alert

U. S. Embassy London
May 25, 2021

 

Message to U.S. Citizens: U.S. Embassy London 

Location: United Kingdom

Event: U.S. citizens may directly return to the United States with certain expired U.S. passports.

If you are overseas and your passport expired on or after January 1, 2020, you may be able to use your expired passport to return directly to the United States until June 30, 2022.

You qualify for this exception if all the following are true:

You are a U.S. citizen.

  • You are a U.S. citizen.
  • You are currently abroad seeking direct return to the United States
  • You are flying directly to the United States, a United States territory, or have only short-term transit (“connecting flights”) through a foreign country on your direct return to the United States or to a United States Territory.
  • Your expired passport was originally valid for 10 years. Or, if you were 15 years of age or younger when the passport was issued, your expired passport was valid for 5 years.
  • Your expired passport is undamaged.
  • Your expired passport is unaltered.
  • Your expired passport is in your possession.

You do not qualify for this exception if:

  • You wish to depart from the United States to an international destination.
  • You are currently abroad seeking to travel to a foreign country for any length of stay longer than an airport connection en route to the United States or to a United States territory.
  • Your expired passport was limited in validity.
  • Your expired passport is a special issuance passport (such as a diplomatic, official, service, or no-fee regular passport).
  • Your expired passport is damaged.
  • Your expired passport is altered.
  • Your expired passport is not in your possession.

Please be advised that currently, routine passport processing in the United States can take 10-12 weeks. If you need a passport in less than 10-12 weeks due to international travel plans, you can pay an additional $60 fee to expedite your passport, which will shorten the processing time to 4-6 weeks.

If your U.S. passport expired on or before December 31, 2019, please see our website for information on how to renew your passport before traveling.

Actions to Take:

Assistance:
U.S. Embassy London, United Kingdom
33 Nine Elms Lane
London, UK SW11 7US
+44 (0) 207-499-9000
from U.S.: 011 44 207-499-9000
SCSLondon@state.gov
https://uk.usembassy.gov/

U.S. Consulate General Edinburgh
+44 (0) 131 556-8315
Edinburgh-info@state.gov

U.S. Consulate General Belfast
+44(0) 28 9038-6100
acsbelfast@state.gov

State Department – Consular Affairs
888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444
United Kingdom Country Information

Did someone forward you this email? Enroll yourself in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive health and security updates and to ensure the State Department can locate you in an emergency. Want to unsubscribe? Click here.

You are receiving this message because you subscribed to receive email updates issued by the U.S. Department of State.

If you no longer wish to receive these kinds of updates, please “unsubscribe” by following the instructions under the “Email Subscriptions” link at http://step.state.gov. Please note that the embassy or consulate cannot unsubscribe your address on your behalf.
NOTE: The timestamp on this e-mail message may reflect Washington, D.C., time, which may differ from local time.

More Information

 

Please follow directions of the local authorities and monitor local news.  Useful sources of updates include: