Passport renewal and esta

[Diamondsforeyes]

This is a hypothetical question and excuse me for asking ( suffer with anxiety). Going to USA mid December and esta's paid for and approved. Dn going on holiday in 2 weeks, first time abroad to Europe.
Have told her to guard her passport with her life due to upcoming trip to USA but if the worst thing happened and she somehow lost it, would she be able to apply for a new esta on a new passport? Even if she had one on her old one that hadn't run out?
Dh thinks it would be fine and you would just apply as normal.

I googled 'esta valid but .. ' and Google suggested 'new passport', meaning quite a few people have searched on this to see what the answer is. I know I would be anxious about it too, so you're not alone. As the ESTA is valid for two years, it makes sense that the traveller could need a new passport within that time, whether because it expired or it got lost.

Anyway, the answer is basically given here.

If you obtain a new passport or there is a change to your passport information, you must apply for a new travel authorization and pay the associated fees.

You need to apply for a new Esta if your passport runs out or you lose it.

Thank you. We only got the esta last week, but there wouldn't be a problem if she had to apply for another one so soon?
Sorry my anxiety has gone into overdrive and I'm imagining problems that probably won't happen 🙁

I doubt it as you'd just be applying with a new passport number.

They can't be renewed/extended anyway.

There is a phone number where you can call if you need to. I had a problem with mine a few years ago and I managed to speak to a human (I made a mistake on the form, had to pay again to get another as it couldn't be changed)

You'd apply after the old passport was cancelled and a new one issued. The system checks the validity of the passport at the time of the application. I can imagine it might ask some additional questions in the case of a lost/stolen passport that previously was associated with an ESTA, but there's no indication of that on the website.

Thank you acubalibra and tibpot. I don't remember any questions about previous estas/lost passports when we applied previously but then again it wasn't something I was thinking about at the time.
Thanks again.

Try to stop worrying about this. It is unlikely she will lose her passport. My DD's can be a bit scatty (hello DD1 who left her phone on the bus last week) but neither have ever lost their passport despite travelling a lot.

No, but presumably none of the applicants had lost a passport at the time. As far as I can tell from the ESTA website, it's contacting the UK passport database in real time to verify the information you supply, so it's possible it will ask different questions if you apply again.

I will be in a similar position next year - ds is going to Germany with school only weeks before we go to Japan together on holiday. If anything happens to the passport, although I won't have another visa to apply for, I will have to turn a replacement around quickly in peak holiday season. Not joyous but I will just have to get on it the day he comes back if it happens.

I know I should stop worrying. Big problem for me though 🙁. Anyway at least we have 5 or 6 weeks after she gets back to sort things if necessary.

Impress upon her the need to keep her passport in the safe at her hotel and not take it out with her. Has she got another form of ID for taking out? If not get her a provisional driving licence maybe?

I think the best you can do is have an action plan for what you'd do if the worst happens. I'll have six weeks but no way would I risk sending off a regular passport application, as presumably if I did that I wouldn't be able to do a fast track afterwards if I decided it was getting too close to the date. I see that I can't use the One Day Service for a child's passport, so would have to use the one week fast track instead.

I see that I would need to make an appointment and here's the search page to find your nearest centre. I'd also need to get some new passport photos done, but I know where I'd do that, so the biggest hurdle would be finding a signatory, since my usual person doesn't live near us any more. I can solve that but might have to see who could do it on the spot.

I appreciate it's not as simple as having a plan makes the worry go away. But at least it means you are prepared as you can be if you need to deal with it.