Necesitamos ya sea recuperar nuestros pasaportes o sacar unos nuevos.

• - (We) need to either get our passports back or get new ones.

What purpose does the “ya sea” serve here? The phrase seems to stand on its own without that. Thanks!

It adds the “either”. Without the “ya sea” I translate it to “We need to get out passports back or get new ones.”

The interesting part is the use of the subjunctive. I suppose in English, we could use the same as in the following: “Be it getting our passports back or getting new ones, we need them.”

¡Hola Scott_C y Steven-W15!

Indeed, while it's easier and more natural to translate ya sea … o to “either … or” in modern English, technically, ya sea would actually be closer to “be (it)” or even “(whether it) be.” 

This is a good example of one of those places where the Spanish phrasing seems quite old-fashioned when you translate it directly into English, but it sounds perfectly normal in Spanish! :)

Saludos,

Liss

Thanks, Liss & Scott_C!