How to get a second British passport for business reasons

How to get a second British passport for business reasons


Did you know it is possible to hold two British passports at the same time?

If the ability to apply for a second British passport comes as a surprise to you, you’re not alone. The service is not advertised by Her Majesty’s Passport Office, nor is there an official application process. In fact, the top Google result for the topic is a PDF guide for HMPO staff on how to issue one.

Despite the semi-secrecy surrounding the service, there are a number of reasons why you might want – and be eligible for – a second passport:
you need to get a visa to travel for business, which takes your primary passport out of use for some time
you need to travel to incompatible countries (eg. Israel and Iran)
you are a frequent traveller and need to cross borders regularly, such as airline staff

Neither Rob nor myself have ever needed to apply for a second British passport (I hold a German and British one, and Rob just makes do with one, unlike his kids ….). Reader Chris recently went through the process of applying for a second UK passport and offered to write up his experience for us.
Over to Chris:

“If you find yourself frequently travelling for business and needing a visa in your passport then you know the stress of waiting for your passport to be returned before you can fly. Pre-pandemic I spent a panicked morning tracking the delivery of my passport from the US Embassy for a flight that evening.

As travel starts to get back to normality I find myself with lots of international dates lined up [Chris is an entertainer]. Many of these require visas and the fear of being stuck without my passport has returned. Luckily there is a way round that.

Although you’ll find almost no mention of this on the HM Passport site it is possible to get a second passport to avoid these situations. This isn’t a duplicate of your current passport, this is a brand new passport complete with a new passport number so if you’ve got Global Entry for the US be sure to update that.

With a lack of information online about the hoops you need to jump through to get a second passport, this guide should help.
Who can get a second passport?

HM Passport Office isn’t keen on giving out second passports to anyone who wants one, especially not leisure travellers. You need a legitimate reason and have to be over 16.

Official advice says you can get an additional passport if you ’need to get visas to travel on business, travel to incompatible countries or are frequent travellers.’ You will need to prove why you need a second passport.
How much does it cost?

The same as applying for a first adult passport. At the time of writing that’s starting from £75.50 but costs more if you need your passport sooner.
How long does it take?

It depends on the current passport office times. You can use the fast track service to get it back within a week and it’s possible to use the on-the-day service and get it back the same day.
How to apply for a second UK passport

You need to fill out the standard passport application form which you can get from the Post Office. You cannot print your own.

Even though you’re getting a second passport you need to fill in the form as if you’re getting your first passport. You must fill in the box in Section 1 for ‘Your First British Passport.’

Fill the rest of the form in as usual and in Section 8 note that you are applying for a second passport for business reasons and not to cancel your first passport.

As with a regular passport application, you will also need two identical passport photos and you’ll need to get a countersignature from a British or Irish Passport holder who you’ve known for over two years and isn’t related to you. This person needs to be in a recognised profession and will also sign the back of one of your passport photos.

Once you’ve completed the form you will also need supporting documentation to prove that you need a second passport. You’ll need a supporting letter and your existing passport.

The supporting letter must be signed and on company headed paper with the company number clearly shown and explain the reasons why you need the second passport. It must be dated no later than four weeks before your the application.

If, like me, you’re the owner / operator of your own company then – despite what I was told on the phone by the Passport Office – you can not supply a letter written by yourself. I found out the hard way, but luckily was able to get an additional letter emailed to the passport office within ten minutes and continue with my appointment.

If you run your own company it is vital that your supporting letter is from an additional director or your accountant. There are various drafts of the letter you can send doing the rounds on the internet, here’s a variation of what I used: