MademoiselleFifi

According to https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...ry/france.html, the passport validity requirement is "6 months minimum at entry and valid for 3 months beyond your planned date of final departure from the Schengen area." I just realized that my passport BARELY meets the first half of that for my September trip-- it will expire 6 months plus 6 days after my entry date. The trip will only be 9 or 10 days, so the second half of the requirement -- 3 months beyond end of stay-- is no problem.

However, there seems to be a lot of confusion online, including on these forums, with some people saying you need 6 months beyond end of trip, not just beginning. If that were true, the second half of the rule would be redundant, as 6 months would always be longer that 3 months. But is there a chance that some airline personnel would have or claim the same confusion and deny boarding?

Sending my passport away for renewal right now would be a nuisance because there's a very slight chance that I may get an opportunity for a separate trip early-summer before the September trip.

raincitygirl

I think you will be fine.

fuzzbucket

I would call your embassy and speak to someone who actually knows something.

Tulips

Since you have 6 months + 6 days at entry, you'll be fine.

cafegoddess

I think you will be fine. My husband's passport was going to expire December 29, 2015. He was able to use it for a 10 day trip to Japan in October, 2015.

I renewed it right away when we got back.

Tulips

What Japan allows is not necessarily what France will allow.

I wouldn't try traveling to the US with 2 months left on my passport...

Kathie

In my experience (mostly traveling in Asia) the rule is 6 months validity beyond your date of departure from the foreign country. But the rule depends on the country you are visiting, not what the US says about entry requirements. I'd read what France says about requirements.

MademoiselleFifi

France's requirements are stated quite clearly-- I know my passport meets that. What I'm worried about is whether everyone at JFK would be familiar with the second half of that (3 months, not 6 months out from end of trip).

f1racegirl

Why not go ahead and renew - instead of just guessing?

MademoiselleFifi

Re "why not...", because there's a small chance that I may have to travel (separate trip) in little more than a month from now,in which case I would have 2 very short windows of time before or after that to part with my passport, and to not get it back in time when it's in fact valid for my September trip would really suck.

Whathello

Mrs Fifi,

You had stated it in your post : you get conflicting info (I always find it interesting that we answer about Japan or UK when somebody asks about France).
So your choices are :
- trust yourself and your understanding of what you found;
- pick one of the posts above and follow that recommendation;
- ask a travel agent (a good one... if that exists);
- call the french consulate - they are supposed to know their laws.

Have a nice trip !

janisj

Only you can decide if it is worth the angst . . . Either renew (expedited now) or don't. Your choice. Nothing we say (or even what someone at the French Consulate says) will have a bearing on what the the airline desk agent at JFK might or not might not know.

StCirq

What we think is irrelevant. It's possible that what the consulate tells you will be wrong, too. When we were preparing to move to France we got conflicting information from two different people in the same office of the French Consulate in DC regarding some pretty important issues. At one point we were on the telephone with them and they were agruing vehemently between the two of them over something that was, for us, a monumental issue.

Just get an expedited passport renewal now and be done with this issue.

MademoiselleFifi

Thanks for the input. At this point, I think it would be most practical to hang on to my passport until I find out for sure whether the long shot June trip will happen, and after that, decide between getting an expedited renewal before September or just printing out the info from the State Dept site (and/or a confirmation from French consulate) to show anyone at the airport ho questions being that close to the deadline.

Viajero2

I do understand you discussing the topic on a travel forum. However, I sure hope you are consulting this with the ONLY opinion you ultimately should listen to: the appropriate enforcing agency. Same goes for the airline.