Do Businesses Pay For Passport Renewal Reimbursement Expenses?

The best companies often do business internationally. They send executives and employees across the globe to represent brands, win contracts and recruit a new insurance consultant. Of course, any executive might be wondering who should pay for passport renewal expenses? In this post, we cover when businesses pay for passport renewal costs on behalf of the employee.

Verbal Confirmation

In some HR departments, a verbal agreement will pay any passport renewal fees on behalf of the business. Remember, these types of agreements are easily broken. So, you might want to ask for the corporate credit card so you do not have to get reimbursed. It would depend on your trust with the HR professional or company owner. Some businesses will easily pay for passport renewal and so a verbal confirmation is all you need.

Upfront Payment

In stricter companies, there would be a formal process for paying passport renewal fees. When companies regularly send employees abroad to trade shows, events or conferences, they may opt to pay upfront for all the passport processing fees. These costs would include the passport expedite fees and additional visa charges. Payments can be made via check, credit cards or money order. Typically, there is much more process involved compared to smaller companies. It makes traveling abroad for business with a passport much more streamlined.

Passport Renewal Reimbursement

Since there are so many ways to apply for a passport, businesses can set up reimbursements for passport renewal fees. At $110 for renewal, this would be a nice reimbursement from an employer. You might be required to submit your passport application receipts along with several other human resources forms. These documents will allow the business to verify the legitimate charges. If there is a good process in place, most traveling employees in your company will be eligible to have passport renewal reimbursements.

Foreign Company Hiring Employee Abroad

More exclusively, you may work for a company based in another country. If you are required to travel to the corporate headquarters for reviews, meetings or training, they can cover the costs of your passport renewal. After all, you add more diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Undoubtedly, this is a great benefit to employees that do not have a written requirement to keep their passport up to date. For foreign employers, you can ask for domestic passport renewal reimbursements.

H-2B Visa Program

Under the H-2B program, employers may cover the costs of passport renewals. Employers are liable for inbound and outbound transportation, as well as any visa processing charges incurred by the employee. While it is not mandatory for H-2B employers to pay for the passport, many companies often pay for it. Under the department of labor, employers must follow the charges and regulations strictly. While you can request these employers to pay for the renewal fees, they have the right to say no too.

Every business has different corporate travel policies pertaining to passport renewal expenses. While you might feel that you are entitled to have the renewal fees reimbursed, businesses are not legally required to pay for them. In fact, many accounting degree holders debate about writing off passport fees as business expenses. Since the passport can be used for personal purposes, you should consider it a nice perk if your company does decided to reimburse the renewal fees. Whether it’s verbal, upfront, reimbursed or international, businesses certainly have the ability to pay for passport application fees. However, they don’t have to.

Image from https://www.travelvisapro.com/blog/fees-expedited-us-passport-renewal/