Passport renewals: 4–5 weeks
The U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Spain and Andorra says passport processing is currently taking about 4–5 weeks and advises checking passport expiration ahead of summer travel. (es.usembassy.gov) The embassy’s notice is the concrete processing‑time figure cited across recent travel planning coverage. (es.usembassy.gov)
Americans planning summer trips from Spain or Andorra should check their passports now: the U.S. Embassy in Madrid said April 17 that renewals are taking about four to five weeks. (es.usembassy.gov) The embassy’s notice applies to U.S. citizens using consular passport services in Spain and Andorra, and it singled out children’s passports because they last five years, not 10. (es.usembassy.gov) The State Department says its published processing times do not include mailing, and applicants should budget for up to two weeks for an application to arrive and up to two weeks for the new passport to come back by mail. (travel.state.gov) That means a traveler facing a four-to-five-week processing window at a consulate can still lose additional time before the passport is in hand, even before airline check-in or border-control rules come into play. (travel.state.gov) The State Department also tells travelers to check passport validity early because some countries require at least six months of validity beyond the trip, and some airlines enforce that rule at boarding. (travel.state.gov) For Americans abroad, renewal options depend on where they are and whether they qualify. In the United States, eligible adults can renew online for routine service; overseas renewals are handled under separate embassy and consulate procedures. (travel.state.gov) In Spain, the embassy says adult renewals use the DS-82 process and lists a $130 fee for a passport book and $30 for a passport card. (es.usembassy.gov) Travelers who wait too long may need urgent service instead. The State Department says passport agencies in the United States reserve urgent-travel appointments for people leaving the country within 14 calendar days, or needing a foreign visa within 28 days. (travel.state.gov) The practical cutoff is earlier than the expiration date printed in the book. By mid-April, the embassy in Spain was already telling Americans to count backward from summer departure dates, not forward from the day the passport expires. (es.usembassy.gov)
