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there was minor spillage on my passport and the date of birth has been some what obscured. Is it considered damaged? Thanks in advance for any help!!!

passport damage

blahdiblah
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eben
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2 Answers2

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When any actual data on the passport shows damage (especially the bio page) it would be prudent to replace it. This may or may not be interpreted as an attempt to change the data in the passport. Water damage on an empty page or the cover of the passport book is much more tolerable than any damage to the bio page or affixed stamps or visas, especially if the latter may be misinterpreted with malice (which is generally the default interpretation for the immigration folks).

oh whatever
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Unless you have to travel right away, it's best to cancel this passport ASAP, report it to the police as compromised online, follow their instructions, and apply for a new one. Note that the old passport should not be used after reporting this.

Reasons

  1. This document looks like it's been tampered with. A particular bad scenario that can happen is you board a plane (local authorities can check your passport digitally), arrive to another country, refused entry (foreign passports can't be easily checked digitally), detained airside and deported in a few days.
  2. You've leaked your passport. While partial passport leaks are common, this is a high quality photo leak on a very public website that's indexed by search engines.
Therac
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