Our visa renewal was scheduled for next week and it seemed like it would be straightforward. The first time we got my work visa, it was a hot mess of needing to get notarizations and apostilles, it took months, and it was expensive to do it all. But now, we were not only renewing the visa (not applying for it), but we were also renewing it for the second time. Surely it would be straightforward, right?

That is, until a document we had suddenly went missing. And, as naturally happens, it was an important document, so important that the visa office said it “couldn’t be processed without it.”¹ Thankfully, we had applied early and had another week before our visa expired.

So, we went home and scoured the house. And I mean SCOURED it. First, we searched every place the document should be, then any place it might be, and then we searched any place it could be. I even pulled off loose tiles from the bathroom wall in case one of the kids had stuffed it in there. Nothing. It just wasn’t in our house anywhere.²

But the visa office was quite kind, and since we had copies of the original—and since they had proof that they’d seen the original the year before—they processed the visa without that document. We were so thankful. Yet, I knew we’d need the document the next year, so I set about getting it replaced.

And that’s when it hit me: Of all the problems that might prevent you from getting a visa, missing a document is just about the dumbest and easiest problem to solve. If I had two copies of the document, then we could still have renewed the visa even if one was lost. Why I hadn’t applied the principle of redundancy to my documents is beyond me, but it taught me a lesson that I’m now passing on to you.

If something is critical to your visa, your life’s normal operation, or your safety, create redundancy whenever possible. Today I’m going to share why this is crucial, ways to achieve redundancy that you haven’t thought of, what to do if you can’t be redundant, and more!

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Why triple redundancy

In an article earlier this year, on a strategy for having backups of your devices, I explained the concept of triple redundancy, so I’ll just repeat that here:

You’ve likely heard of “triple redundancy” before; it’s a foundational principle for designing anything used in a high-risk scenario. Whether spaceships, airplanes, military equipment, power plants, train relays, or even lightbulbs in your car, critical infrastructure is built with triple redundancy.

But why triple redundancy? Why not two backups or just one? Well, one backup is better than none and two is better than one, but there is a reason why most systems use triple redundancy and not double or single.

Two is one and one is none.

Take my wife’s document, for example. I just had one document and so, with one problem—losing it—we faced a serious problem. If you only have one of an item that is critical, then you really have none of it—because you’re only one mistake or problem or theft away from having none. One is not secure and will easily lead to a host of problems. One is none.

Now, two is better than one! If one goes missing, then you have a backup. But it’s quite possible that the same problem that prevents one from being used will prevent the other from being used as well. For example, a thief or a house fire or a child who puts them through your shredder or just plain carelessness. That can easily get rid of both items at the same time. And even if the same problem doesn’t take away both of your documents, if you lose one document, you now have no backup left.

Two is one, and one is none.

With triple redundancy, though, your risk goes down substantially. Even if you had a problem with one document, you’ll not only have another document, but a backup to that other document. Then, if you follow the directions below to enhance that triple redundancy, you’re almost guaranteed to have a working solution for any problem.

Redundancy with Prepared Expat enhancements

Now, you might think that what I’m going to suggest is quadruple redundancy, or something like that—but I’m not. Triple redundancy is good, but getting quadruple redundancy will probably cost you time and money without actually reducing your risk. Even life support systems on spaceships have only triple redundancy.

Instead, you should do two things to enhance your redundancy: First, build in complementary redundancy and, second, diversify your redundancy.

Complementary redundancy

The idea here is that just having 3 of the same items is redundant, but having 3 of different items that do the same thing in different ways creates complementary redundancy.

For example, imagine you’re camping and need to start a fire. You have triple redundancy—three different boxes of matches—but it’s possible for that brand of matches to be bad, or for wind conditions to be so bad that you can’t light a fire. A better way to achieve redundancy is to have a box of matches, a long-stem cigarette lighter, and a flint & steel. This gives you triple redundancy—three ways to light a fire—but they’re slightly different, with different pros and cons, and so enhance your redundancy quite nicely.

I’ve implemented complementary redundancy with my water supply. Local water isn’t that safe to drink, so I have: (1) a built-in, electric, reverse osmosis filter on our water pipeline, (2) a portable, gravity-fed water filter, and (3) water purification tablets. See how the redundancy is enhanced by having complementary redundancy, and not just three of the same thing?

Diversify your redundancy

The disaster on the Apollo 13 spacecraft is a great example of why you need to diversify your redundancy. In that disaster, so well told in the movie starring Tom Hanks & Kevin Bacon, an explosion in the craft’s oxygen supply severely crippled the ship and the crew nearly ran out of oxygen. However, the ship had triple redundancy—three separate tanks of oxygen, and just one of the tanks should have been enough for the crew’s voyage. So why were oxygen supplies at critical levels?

Because, as described in the excellent book by Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, all three oxygen tanks were placed, side-by-side, on the same shelf of Apollo 13. The explosion in one severely damaged the others and nearly destroyed the entire oxygen supply. NASA now designs spacecraft with triple redundancy in diversified areas to reduce the risk.

I’ve implemented diversified redundancy by keeping critical items at my home and at my parents’ home in my passport country. If some crazy event happened that prevented me from using my original or backup, it’s incredibly unlikely that the backup at my parents’ house would be destroyed as well. That’s diversity of redundancy.

Digitize your redundancy

Whenever possible, create digital copies of anything that you can–passports, visas, deeds, permissions, contracts, etc.–and of the apostilles and translations for those documents. If you lose the original, it’s unlikely (though possible) that a foreign government will recognize the copy instead of the original. However, having a copy rather than the original is better than nothing.

I’m pretty sure that one reason our host government gave us the visa without the required document was that we had copies of them. This, combined with the fact that the office had seen the originals the previous year, gave us some extra grace to be given an exemption. Digital copies can only help you.

What you need redundant, and how to get it

Ok, so you understand the principle now, but you’re probably asking—what should I make sure I have triple redundancies of? Glad you asked! The short answer is that you should have redundant supplies for anything that your life depends on (e.g. medicine, water), which is necessary for your residency (e.g. legal documents), or which significantly impacts your life (e.g. money).

Below is a non-exhaustive list of things that I think expats should have redundancy for. For some of them, I give you some tips or suggestions for how to build redundancy.

Identification

In any emergency, and especially as an expat, you’ll need to be able to identify yourself.

• Passports. This is the hardest to make redundant, because most countries will only issue one, but if you have (or can get) multiple citizenships, you can get multiple passports. Also, be aware that US citizens can apply for a second passport book if you meet certain conditions. If you can’t get a second passport, make sure you have redundant copies of your passport (digital and physical) in case the original is lost, stolen, or destroyed.
• Identification. If your only ID is your passport, then you don’t have redundancy. This is one reason why I recommend everyone get a passport card, not just a passport book.. Library cards, school IDs, social service cards, etc., can all function as different kinds of ID, so consider complementing with them. Also, keep in mind that you may want redundant copies of these as well!
• Driver’s license. A driver’s license may be used as ID (giving you complementary redundancy) but it also enables you to drive. Getting redundancy copies prevents you from loss through carelessness or situations where corrupt officials seize your driver’s license in order to get a bribe from you. Getting an extra copy of a driver’s license is not always possible, but many states allow you to apply for a new one if you misplace the old one. If you do misplace the old one and get a new one, but then are able to find the old one again, you’ll have redundant copies. The old one may be invalidated in your country’s system (i.e., if the police looked it up in that country), but it will appear valid in other countries, giving you some redundancy.

Residency items

Maintaining your residency as an expat is critical. Here are some things that you can make redundant so that your residency is more stable. For any redundant copies, make sure you’re getting notarizations, apostilles, and translations as necessary so that the documents can be used in your country.

This is what I wish I had done with my wife’s documents—and what I’ve now done with our critical documents.

• Visa. I’ve never heard of a country allowing multiple visas that are valid at the same time, but that would be awesome if you could. That’s unlikely, though, so make sure you have digital and physical copies of your current visa. Also, it’s wise to know the procedure to change your visa so that, if you can’t keep your current visa type, do you have an alternative way to maintain residency?
• Marriage license. Some countries or locations will reissue a marriage license, or issue a certified copy of the license, so see if you can get an extra copy of this.
• Birth certificates. If possible, get multiple copies of your children’s birth certificates so that you have redundancy. Take the next step, and leave a set of certificates with the people named as your children’s legal guardians in the case of your death. It would make it easier if you were to die, would help repatriate your kids, and also gives you diverse locations of your redundant documents.
• Other documents. If anything else is needed for your visa renewal—background checks, court orders, name change documents, CRBAs, naturalization documents, etc.—then get multiple copies issued and diversify where they’re stored.

Emergency Supplies

If a natural disaster happened, would you have redundant supplies to get you through? Here’s some to consider:

• Water Filter. You can survive for weeks without food, but only days without water. Ensure you have redundancy here so that you can keep your family alive. I wrote an entire chapter of my book about this, and I’ll give you that chapter if you join my mailing list. Sign up now!

• Food. This may sound crazy, but as the pandemic, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters have demonstrated, you should have plenty of food to go around. This is important to have complementary redundancy. Do you have food that you can cook in an oven? On a stove? Over a campfire? Do you have food you can eat cold? Building out complementary redundancy will enable you to keep eating, no matter what kind of crisis you face.
• Cooking supplies. Food that you can’t cook in an emergency won’t do you much good. Do you have multiple ways to cook the food in an emergency? Stove? Grill? Fire? Make sure you have the supplies you need for each.
• Medical supplies. This is not just for life-critical drugs or medicines, but the supplies (bandages, antibiotics, etc.) and tools (thermometer, blood pressure cuffs, etc.) that you might need. When my family had COVID, my electronic thermometer ran out of battery and I had no replacement for that type, but we had a different kind of thermometer in the house and so were fine.
• Communications. Think of a natural disaster that would take out communications and the internet. Do you have alternative ways to communicate if you needed? Walkie-talkies? Satellite connectivity? Radio?
• Heating or cooling. If you live in an area of the world where the heat or cold could kill you without shelter, do you have a way to keep yourself warm (or cool) without electricity? Sadly, when there is a power outage, people regularly die from extreme heat or cold. Make sure that your family won’t be a casualty. Build up some redundancy here.
• Space blankets can be a life-saver in an emergency situation. I wrote a whole article on this topic, so check that out and make sure you’re covered.

Financial

Money is crucial to your life as an expat, so make sure you have redundant means of accessing your money!

• Multiple bank accounts. This is so critical to expat life that I wrote a whole article about it. Check it out: Banking on Backup: Financial Redundancy for Expats.
• Multiple credit/debit cards. Sometimes a card inexplicably won’t work, or you may lose an ATM card. Make sure you have multiple cards for each account, and multiple accounts that you can access. And make sure to set them up well so that you can use them in an emergency. I wrote an entire article on this one too: Cash in a Flash: Fluid Finances for Expat Emergencies.
• Cash. Cash is a key part of complementary redundancy. See my suggestions on how to store it safely here, and how to transport it safely here. Consider if cash in multiple currencies could be an advantage to you.

Other

• Electronics. Make sure that, if one device is destroyed, you’ve got backups on it. I feel like a broken record, but this is so important that I wrote an article about it too: Expat Tech Survival: Implementing a 3-2-1 Backup Strategy.
• Transportation. If being able to move or flee is vital to your survival (e.g. you’re in a potential war zone), then make sure you have multiple ways to travel (Car, motorcycle, bicycle, wagon for kids, etc.). Make sure you’ve got redundant related supplies too (gas, inner tubes, maps, etc.)
• Travel authorizations. Make sure that the people who would have custody of your kids if you were incapacitated have not only redundant copies of your will and necessary documents, but appropriately notarized, apostilled, or translated travel authorizations for them to pick up your kids.

I’m sure there are other things that you need to make redundant. What did I miss? Let me know in the comments or where you follow me on social media.

When you can’t have redundancy

The best thing to do is to create triple redundancy to reduce your risk. That’s not always possible, though. For example, my kids born in the US have redundant birth certificates, but my children born in Asia weren’t allowed to get an extra copy. What do you do then?

Two things: Watch it, and plan to replace it.

Watch it

The goal of redundancy is reduced risk, but there are other ways to reduce risk than merely have redundant systems. NASA has a list of items that are mission-critical for which redundancy isn’t possible—and these are closely inspected and monitored to ensure that no problems arise.

Behold, the fool saith, “Put not all thine eggs in the one basket” – which is but a matter of saying, “Scatter your money and your attention”; but the wise man saith, “Put all your eggs in the one basket and – WATCH THAT BASKET

Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson

So watch non-redundant items closely and make sure they’re safe. Consider what risks it might face and try to mitigate them as you can (e.g. a fireproof safe for your documents, or a diversion safe for your cash, etc.)

Plan to replace it

When you’re getting the document in the first place, ask what the process would be to replace the document, if you lost it. It’ll be easier to learn this as you get the document than to figure it out later on. This is particularly true if you’re overseas and need redundancy for something not from your passport government.

When my kids got their birth certificate overseas, this is one of the questions that I asked. Unfortunately, and annoyingly, losing their birth certificate would mean we have to travel back to that same hospital to get it re-issued. So save that information! Who knows, 50 years from now, your child might have to get the item replaced and won’t have a clue where to start, unless you have figured out how to replace the item in advance.

Conclusion

Redundancy isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity for expats who want to survive and thrive. Whether you’re dealing with critical documents, essential supplies, or financial resources, redundancy helps ensure that one failure doesn’t become a life-altering disaster. If you take the time to build multiple layers of redundancy, you’ll minimize the risk of being caught off guard and can continue your expat journey with far more peace of mind. Remember, two is one and one is none, but triple redundancy gives you a safety net—and my suggestions for enhanced redundancy take it even further!

So, as you go about your expat life, take stock of where you’re vulnerable. Identify those critical areas—whether it’s legal documents, emergency supplies, or essential electronics—and make a plan to build redundancy into each of them. By doing this now, you’re setting yourself up for success, no matter what surprises life throws your way.

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Footnotes

1. If you must know, it was my wife’s name change court order. So, yeah, kind of important to link her current name to document issued under her old name. ↩︎
2. We found the document 2 years later in my wife’s parent’s house under their bed. What it was doing there…is a different story. ↩︎