By Parviz Malakouti-Fitzgerald, Esq.
It's simple - the longer the passport validity period, the better
This article is part of our series on mobility concept & strategy explainers.
Any required government contact to maintain a passport or identification card (“ID”) is a bottleneck in the waiting and potential attack vector on your freedom of movement.
That's why, generally, an automatic extension by law is better than an extension pursuant to an application.
That's why 10-year passports are better than 5-year passports.
And 5-year IDs are better than 2-year IDs, and so on.
Longer validity periods equate to a smaller chance of a limit on your freedom of movement. This principle should be kept in mind when pursuing visas, residencies, citizenships, passports, and official identification cards.
In some cases, it could even be a tie-breaker in making a close decision of which of two mobility assets to pursue.