There's Always Something: Expensive Expat Passports!
If all goes according to plan, Mrs. Denmarkguy and I are going to visit my native Denmark next summer for our summer vacation. This will mark the longest I have been away — the last time we were over there was 8 years ago, but Covid, financial constraints and various other things have gotten in our way.
Whereas the potential trip is still 16 months away, it's always good to be on top of the various things that have to be taken care of before you go, such as lining up house sitting, saving up to manage expenses while you're gone, saving up to fund the trip itself, and... oh wait, travel documents!
As some of you may remember, I'm actually a Danish national living in the USA. I'm a permanent resident of this country but I still hold a Danish passport. And, of course, I will need to get a new passport because my old one will expire before our proposed trip to Denmark.
Budget Cuts and Stuff...
Getting a Danish passport renewed in the United States didn't used to be as complicated as it has become.
Back when I lived in Texas, I just get in the car drive the two and a half hours to the Danish Consulate in Houston, fill out some paperwork, have a picture taken, give them some money and about four weeks later my new Danish passport would arrive in the mail.
Of course, doing things by mail is no longer possible because of the current requirement that passport applicants show up in person so that the passport can be coded with the "biometric information" of the passport holder.
It used to be that there was a Danish Consulate here in nearby Seattle which would have been relatively simple but the Danish Consulate in Seattle no longer handles passports because of the Biometrics equipment needed for the newest generation of passports.
I've actually been through that once before, and had to go to Sacramento, California which was the nearest Danish Consulate that issued passports. Sacramento is, on a good day, a very long day's drive from here so it was possible to drive down, spend the night, go to a morning appointment at the Consulate and then be home by late at night the following day.
Alas, it turns out that in the eight years since I last had a passport renewed, the Danish Consulate in Sacramento has been reduced in terms of staff and equipment, to where it is now only what they call an "Honorary Consulate." Translated to English, that basically means all they can do is hand out information about Denmark and give you forms and what have you but not actually start the passport process.
So I ended up doing a bunch of research on the Danish Foreign Ministry page and ended up with the conclusion that I now would have to go to Silicon Valley where there is a Danish Consulate and Trade Center where they actually handle the issuance of passports.
Or, rather, they take the information necessary to start the passport creation process, they take your money, and then it's all sent to Denmark and encoded over there and sent back to Silicon Valley in the Diplomatic pouch and then eventually mailed to the passport holder via Federal Express or Express Mail or something like that.
The long and the short of it is that getting my passport renewed now is not only the approximately $180 for the passport itself, but also the cost of about a $300 round trip air ticket to San Jose, an overnight stay at some cheap motel by the airport, and an additional $30 for a secure mailing of the passport back to me, thank you come again!
It's a small Wonder that we hardly ever go anywhere anymore! Still, I wouldn't want to forego one more trip to Denmark because I have a sneaking suspicion this may be one of the last I get to do.
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!
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Created at 2024-01-28 23:53 PST
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That is absolutely bonkers. It's an indication of how obsessed States are with controlling movement - so expensive!
I guess that's what governments here do. Control people. At least most of the Scandinavian governments have some semblance of interest in the well-being of their citizens.
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Everything is expensive everywhere. It’s just crazy It’s a good thing you’re already planning!
And it's a good thing we have a family place where we can stay for free, once we get to Denmark! Otherwise this wouldn't be on, at all.
That’s perfect then!
Papers please, comrade.
Pre-ww1, if I am not mistaken, was the last time travel was relatively uncomplicated. Little demand for passports and visas. Occasional ships hitting icebergs. A better time all around.
Papers, please, indeed!
Ironically, I've lived that extreme... when I was 12, we lived in Spain during the Franco dictatorship. The Guardia Civil (national military police) could pretty much "disappear you" without cause. Good times, good times...
It's just an expensive pain in the butt, these days.
That is such a huge hassle and expense just to renew a passport. I hope all goes well with the process and you get to enjoy another trip to your home country.
I hope we manage to pull it off, even though it is heinously expensive and our income is increasingly limited. Time will tell.
Travel was easy when younger, now exceptionally expensive getting anything done.
Schengen Visa currently cost Euro 80, not something we required before. Travel North in 2005 it had become a requirement. Medical, passports, sufficient funding in banks, proof of residence in country being visited, it all adds up before departure.
Enjoy your visit when you get there, it most definitely takes a massive chunk of change out the piggy bank, might be the last opportunity, so go!
Sometimes it just feels like being "nickel0and-dimed" to death, except in fairly large amounts. Thankfully, Denmark is part of the Schengen zone, so at least that's not a worry. And the place we're staying is largely paid for.
Our biggest expense tends to be paying someone to house sit and mind our pets while we're away, and then the cost of keeping all the bills paid at home because we're self-employed and there's no such thing as "paid holidays" in the USA.
Costs add up quickly, best to take the plunge simply not knowing what tomorrow may bring, very expensive here as well.
Crazy as things are getting hopefully Denmark's still in one piece when you get there. I've always wanted to go to Norway one day. Even if someone handed me free tickets I doubt I'd go. Never been one for having a lot of good luck, it'd just be I'd land there and the bombs would start flying. It goes all the way back to a story my fifth grade teacher read to us. Every day after recess she'd read aloud to the class a chapter in a book until everyone got themselves calmed back down. I can't recall the name of the book. I'd actually buy it to read it again and see if it's still impactful of the adventures during the war of children who lived up near the mountains.
Normally, I prefer to just take things one step at a time as they come along, but because of the massive expense associated with travel these days, this has been in the planning for a couple of years.
I could use a book like that... I tend to get to a point where I start wondering whether the hassles and expense and attendant anxiety is really worth it... just to be able to sit down and relax for a couple of weeks.
That’s crazy! What an ordeal, not to mention the high cost.