The United States is planning to expand its online passport renewal service to eligible American citizens living outside the country, potentially allowing them to complete the renewal process without visiting a US embassy or consulate.
The US State Department has proposed the change through a rule published in the Federal Register. If approved, the expansion would extend the existing Online Passport Renewal platform to participating countries overseas.
Under the proposed system, eligible US citizens living abroad would be able to submit passport renewal applications, upload passport photographs, and pay the required fees online.
The State Department plans to introduce the service in phases and will publish a list of participating countries on its official travel website. The department has not yet confirmed which countries will be included in the initial phase.
The proposed system is expected to reduce the need for Americans abroad to schedule appointments and travel to US embassies or consulates for routine passport renewals.
According to the State Department, expanding online passport renewal to citizens overseas could add approximately 220,000 eligible applicants to the platform during fiscal year 2027.
The department also expects the digital process to improve processing times by eliminating the need for physical passport applications to be transferred from overseas diplomatic missions to passport agencies in the United States.
The proposal would modify one of the existing eligibility requirements for online passport renewal. Currently, an applicant’s most recently issued passport must have one year or less of validity remaining.
The State Department plans to remove this specific requirement and instead publish the applicable remaining-validity requirement on its website.
Other eligibility conditions would remain in place. Applicants must have previously held a passport that was valid for 10 years and issued when they were at least 16 years old.
An online renewal application would generally need to be submitted within 15 years of the date the previous passport was issued.
Applicants would also need to possess their most recent passport so it can be verified and electronically canceled through the online system.
Passports reported lost or stolen would not qualify for online renewal under the proposed system. Individuals whose previous passports were issued more than 15 years ago would also remain ineligible.
The passport renewal fee would remain the same as the fee charged for applicants using the traditional paper-based process.
The planned expansion is not yet final. The US State Department will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days before deciding whether to implement or modify it.
If adopted, the measure could make passport renewal considerably easier for eligible Americans living overseas by allowing them to complete much of the process digitally without making an in-person visit to a US diplomatic mission.
