About Duratum
Documents expire quietly. A residence permit runs out while you are busy, and the queue to fix it is longer than the queue to renew it. Duratum exists to make sure that date never arrives as a surprise.
Who publishes this
Duratum is an independent site, operated from the United Kingdom. It is not part of any government, agency or law firm, and it does not act on anyone else's behalf. Everything published here is written and maintained in-house, and questions go to one address: hello@duratum.com.
Why it exists
Renewing a document in your own country is administration. Renewing one in someone else's is a research project. The authority has a name you have not heard of, the form is in a language you are still learning, and the thing nobody tells you is how far ahead to start. Miss that window and a renewal becomes a re-application.
Duratum answers both halves: when to begin, and what beginning actually involves. It covers 11 kinds of document across 242 countries, from passports and residence permits to vehicle papers and insurance.
How the guides are written
Each guide is drafted against published rules and then checked: every link is verified as reachable, and any that has gone dead is dropped rather than left to rot. Each one shows the date it was written and the sources it drew on, so you can judge it rather than trust it.
Where a rule varies by consulate, city or nationality, the guide says so instead of picking one and sounding confident. Where no official source can be confirmed, it says that too. An empty answer is better than a wrong one when the cost of wrong is a lapsed document.
Rules change. Always confirm anything that matters with the authority named in the guide.
How Duratum makes money
The site is free and carries no advertising. Where a renewal means buying something — health insurance, motor insurance, a passport photo, a visa service — Duratum may show a single partner and earn a commission if you use them. Those links are labelled where they appear.
The commission never changes what a guide says. It does not decide which steps are listed, which authority is named, or how far ahead you are told to start. If your current arrangement is already good, keep it.
What Duratum does not do
It does not store your documents, keep your photographs, or read your name or document number. It does not give legal or immigration advice, and it is not affiliated with any government or authority. It cannot renew anything for you. It tells you what the renewal takes and when to start, and then gets out of the way.
Contact
hello@duratum.com. Corrections to a guide are especially welcome. If something in one is wrong, say so and it gets fixed.