The Secondary Passport, the travel hack secret even those who should know, often do not know about. If you travel extensively eventually you may discover the option and the need for a Secondary Passport. Applying for a Secondary Passport can be tricky and reporting it as a clearance holder is critical. Additionally, knowing how to travel with it as a clearance holder is paramount considering you may already face additional scrutiny in foreign countries.
What is a Secondary Passport?
The Secondary Passport is not to be confused with a Second Passport – that of a different country; or that of an Official (Burgundy) or Diplomatic (Black) or even Emergency Travel Papers. The secondary passport is a U.S. Civilian Blue Tourist Passport. The passport number is different, and the photograph may be different but everything else about the traveler should be the same – i.e. DOB, POB, Name, etc. The defining feature of the Secondary Passport is that it is valid for less than the normal adult tourist passport of 10 years.
Validity
The Department of State says “passport book is valid for four years or less.” The first two I ones I received in 2013 and 2016 expired after two years. After, State Department performed some changes with the passport process – including increasing the default page quantity, I received in 2019 a four-year validity one. By my third Secondary Passport in 2024 however, the validity was back to two years. I suspect it is the individual posts’ (Embassy, Consulate or HQ) discretion to decide how long they will be valid for.
Reporting
Sitting in my office in Herat, which I shared with U.S. AID and Regional Security Officers (RSO), I casually mentioned my secondary passport. The younger of the two RSOs immediately told me not to “confess” to him that I have two passports because it is illegal. It is not illegal, and it should be noted this was the agent’s first assignment. However, this incident highlights how little the Secondary Passport option is known even within the U.S. Government.
Thus, you can expect a Security Clearance Investigator to not be aware of the Secondary Passport option. During one of my Security Clearance Periodic Reviews, the investigator broached the topic of my secondary passport. He came at it a bit aggressively and as if he had uncovered a secret I was hiding. The SF-86 at that time did not have a place to list more than one American passport which caused a problem.
Since that interview, the SF-86 now provides a section under the “Passport Information” segment to provide an “Optional Comment”. In my experience this is the best place to add the Secondary Passport number, dates and explanation why you acquired one. Since adding my explanation to this section, I have not been asked about it more than confirming the number and expiration date. Additionally, it would be wise to maintain color scanned copies of all your passports biographic pages. Personally, I scan every page and maintain digital copies as PDFs to document the travel in case my spreadsheet is questioned or missing.
Traveling
This gets dicey. The State Department recommends not traveling with more than one passport. They are not wrong in the assumption that it can cause issues at foreign borders with immigration and security officials if discovered. Most do not understand what it is and default to the thought that it is a passport with a second identity – which it is not. I almost always travel with two passports and judge the risk versus the reward in case my passport is stolen and I need to leave the country quickly or gain access to the embassy.
This is truly a personal judgement call that only you can make. There is a valid chance that you could be denied entry into a country if they find you suspicious of having two passports. I have had to explain this more than once while entering a foreign country. One major caveat – it is never recommended to enter a country on one passport and exit it on another. I cannot think of anything that would cause red flags all over than that. With this in mind, be sure you know which passport you entered the country on. It would not be my first time having to in a shady manner, switch the passport in my hand while in the immigration line when I realized I was holding the wrong passport.
Stay Secure
I am not giving any advice here, but I imagine keeping your secondary passport in a secure but not covert place if traveling with it is likely the best option. Typically, while abroad, I keep one safe and one on me. Thus, I have a passport if my hotel is robbed, or I am mugged in person. Also, I would recommend securing at least one or two stamps in it on single-use trips from the USA – i.e. 2 weeks in St. Lucia – to ensure the secondary passport is not suspiciously bare and empty.
The Secondary Passport is a great insurance policy and emergency asset. It also comes with a great responsibly, and one that is amplified if you are a cleared professional. Report it properly, use it wisely. If you do so, it can be a lifesaver; if you treat it like a fake passport, it can leave you detained in a foreign country without instructions for surviving potential waterboarding.
