In a recent conversation with a client, I was reminded that procedures in one country may not be followed in another. For example, the process of getting a U.S. passport differs from the process to get one in France.
The client’s questions about ID document issuance
The client asked me about my experience with centralized and decentralized ID document issuance systems.
It turns out I was experienced in both based upon my time at IDEMIA. State agencies can manufacture driver’s licenses either via a dencentralized process where the driver’s license is printed at your local DMV office while you wait, or via a centralized process where all the driver’s licenses are produced at a secure facility which may or may not be located in the state in question. IDEMIA maintains several such centralized facilities to produce driver’s licenses and credit card-related materials, and they’re so secure that even when I was an IDEMIA employee I was not allowed to enter them.
But then the client asked about passports.
- Based upon my U.S. experience, I knew about centralized passport production.
- The client noted that things are different in some other countries. So I read about the process in France.
Passports and passport renewals in the United States
When I joined Incode Technologies in May 2022, I had to quickly renew my passport so that I could attend a possible meeting in Mexico City. And it’s a good thing I did, because that meeting occurred soon afterwards…well, if you consider April 2023 “soon afterwards.”
My passport had expired in 2020, but I was able to renew my passport anyway with a fairly simple procedure.
- Go to my local CVS drug store and use their automated machine to take the required passport photo in an ICAO-compliant fashion. The machine checked for ICAO compliance. (It took a few tries to get it right.)
- Fill out a paper form.
- Use an antiquated currency technology called a “check” to make out a payment to the U.S. State Department.
- Put everything in an envelope and mail it to a centralized passport processing center.
- Wait.
I forget how many weeks it took me to get my new passport, but I requested an expedited process so it couldn’t have been that many weeks.
This isn’t always true. If you don’t expedite the process, and if there’s a heavy backlog, it could take more than a month to get your passport.
Passports and passport renewals in France
After my meeting with the client, I was curious about the passport policies in other countries, and ran across this Expatica description of French passport production.
Let’s skip right to the biggest difference between France and the United States:
The passport will take a few days to process.
Uh…what?
Not “the passport will take a few days to process if you pay rush fees.”
It will take a few days to process, period.
And no, this isn’t because the United States is larger than France. The same time period applies if you apply for a passport in one of France’s scattered overseas departments, or at a French embassy or consulate.
So how do they do it?
First off, you don’t need to mail a bunch of stuff off to a centralized office. You can simply go to your local town hall (mairie), embassy, or consulate. You need the following:
- A French ID card or other acceptable proof of French nationality.
- A recent photograph (again, ICAO compliant).
- Your fingers, which are presumably attached to your person, so that they can be captured for biometric purposes.
- Proof of residence.
- The passport fee.
Once your bring everything to the mairie, your passport is processed within a few days. (OK, perhaps slightly longer in the summer.) When it’s ready you go back to the mairie, sign your passport, and take it with you to travel to all of the countries you can visit with a French passport. (More than with a United States passport.)
Follow your local, um, customs
My research hasn’t yet uncovered a country where you can get your passport on the same day you apply for it, but such a timeframe is theoretically possible.
This isn’t a current concern of mine since Bredemarket only deals with U.S. firms, but some of these firms are multinational and may ask me to create written content regarding their installation in Vietnam or wherever.
Always ask what the local practice is and don’t assume that the locals do things like we do in Southern California.
Bredemarket 