Passport math: don't be me
 

I can't answer WHY I saw "2023" on my 19 y.o.'s passport, and assured her no problem for traveling this August. But it expires February 6, and we're traveling to Ireland on July 31, and leaving two days within the six month expiration window. So there's a chance they wouldn't even let her on the plane.

We're doing open jaw, flying Aer Lingus into Dublin, then RyanAir Dublin - Nantes, and then French Bee Paris - home. I just realized my mistake today and I'm shaking.

A very nice guy at the passport number said I could call Tuesday morning for an appointment in San Francisco. It's a day trip and it could definitely be worse. I guess I should wait to say that until I actually have the appointment.

I cannot believe I made such a rookie mistake.

I appreciate the "check your passport validity" heads up.

Am not clear on the "2023" issue. It sounds like you got that right and the expiration is Feb 6, 2023 (not an earlier year). If that is the case and the return is before November then I don't get what the problem is.

Sure sounds like this is a US passport, so I took a look at travel.state.gov and found this info:
- "There is no minimum passport validity requirement for U.S. citizens entering Ireland"
- 'Passports must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area."

Ireland International Travel Information (state.gov)
France International Travel Information (state.gov)

I agree -- the current passport's validity is absolutely fine.

I’m a big believer in Better Safe Than Sorry. I’d get the passport updated just to be sure.

• You must have a valid passport to enter Ireland. U.S. citizens can enter visa-free for tourism or business stays of up to 90 days.
• There is no minimum passport validity requirement for U.S. citizens entering Ireland. We recommend you have a passport that is valid for the duration of your stay, evidence of sufficient funds to support your stay in Ireland, and a return airline ticket.
• An increased number of U.S. citizens have been refused entry to Ireland or granted a limited stay because they failed to sufficiently demonstrate their travel intent to Irish immigration officials at the port of entry. You may be asked to provide evidence of sufficient funds to support your stay in Ireland regardless of your purpose of travel. For any travel other than tourism, please ensure you obtain the appropriate documentation prior to travel. You can find more information at the Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service website or by contacting your nearest Irish Embassy or Consulate in the United States.

This is from the US gov website and confirms what others are saying - all you need is a valid passport.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...s/Ireland.html

This is the info on the Irish gov website. No mention of needing extra time on a valid passport.

https://www.irishimmigration.ie/at-t...iss-nationals/

Here is Irish gov webpage that makes it clear. .

Travel between the USA and Ireland - Department of Foreign Affairs (dfa.ie)

Irish entry requirements for US citizens

U.S. passports should be valid for the duration of your stay in Ireland. Please note that entry to Ireland is at the discretion of the immigration authorities. If your passport is expiring we would advise to renew before your trip.

U.S. passport holders can stay in Ireland for a maximum of 90 days without a visa. If U.S. passport holders plan to stay longer in Ireland, a visa will be required.

And from a French govt website:

Arrival in France | France-Visas.gouv.fr

Documents to be presented on arrival in France

The following supporting documents must be presented at the request of the Border Police upon your arrival in France:

• A valid passport issued less than 10 years before and valid for at least 3 months after the envisaged departure

...

A more interesting question is about health insurance, i noticed that the Irish webpages said "should be" instead of "must be", above, about validity and that is says "may" below. The French pages say "must".

Ireland
Other useful documents may include:

• Proof of health insurance that covers the duration of your intended stay

France

• You must have an insurance certificate covering all medical and hospital expenses for which you may be liable for the duration of your stay in France, as well as medical repatriation costs and expenses in the event of death.
  

This is a Schengen zone rule which has been catching out many Brits, mainly because of the "issued less than 10 years before rule" as it used to be possible to renew your passport before the expiry date and have the unexpired time added on. It's also created confusion with the airlines, some of whose employees invented a 6 month rule in place of the 3 month one and on occasion actually denied people travel because of an entirely fictional regulation. "Education" has now more or less caught up with the actual regs but that's little comfort to those who were wrongly stopped from traveling.

Yes, it's a U.S. passport. I'm seeing the 90 day requirement, but I'm also worried about the statement on Aer Lingus that says,All travelers are required to have a machine-readable passport valid for six months beyond the conclusion of their trip.

Thanks, everyone. I'll still try to get the passport renewed but not go into full fledged panic mode if it's not possible. I only see the 90 day rule with our other two airlines RyanAir and French Bee.

What do you understand to be the US passpoirt validity requirements for entry to Ireland? All Aer Lingus cares about is getting you to Ireland and making sure that you can actually enter island. After that, they don't care / don't have anything to do with you.

The US State Dept and the Ireland DFA websites say you are ok to enter Ireland.
The US State Dept and the official visa website for France say you are ok to enter France. And you said that Ryanair and French Bee said the same.

So you are going to act on the chance that Aer Lingus is right and the info from the other five sources is wrong.

OTOH, maybe it is just worth it to you for your peace of mind to go to SF tomorrow. Are you going to walk out of the place tomorrow with a new passport? I assume you will need new passport photos, old passport, and whatever the very nice guy said. Your 19 y.o. is going with you, right? to sign stuff.

Aer Lingus link: Travel to/from the USA - Aer Lingus

If you’re a U.S. citizen travelling to Ireland, you’ll require a valid passport, which remains valid until after completion of your scheduled trip. However, you won’t require a visa for either tourist or business stays provided their duration is less than three months.
--
And your Ryanair ticket info for a departure from Ireland within 90 days of arrival in Ireland would be your proof that you don't need a visa to enter Ireland.

Thanks mrwunrfl. I agree that vast majority of documentation says my daughter's passport is likely ok, and I'm less inclined to try to make an appointment tomorrow to replace her passport.

Now to nail down what health insurance documentation I should think about bringing...

The required insurance topic is interesting and new to me as it wasn't required before the pandamic. I think it was Thailand and Japan where I first saw it. Medical insurance, repatriation, medevac. I have paid for insurance for a couple of trips, not all, and never used it.

Am not going anywhere soon, so I haven't looked into insurance yet, but bookmarked this: Insurance Providers for Overseas Coverage (state.gov)

I would be interested in what you find out for Ireland. My sister is heading there in Sept (assuming BA workers are not on strike).

For Brits travel insurance is the norm. Travel companies insist on it [either their own, which usually comes at a premium or your own] and anyone going to the US would be very stupid not to buy a policy that covered them them for several $millions in medical fees, repatriations etc. For years DH and I had annual world wide policies which were very reasonable but I let it lapse during the pandemic and I have now bought an annual policy just for Europe again at a very reasonable price.

annhig, that is a good, but different, topic. [i just finished writing everything below and came back to comment on what you wrote. that buying insurance is the UK norm means that there are Brits who go outside the norm. That is to say it is not requred. If I ever used a "travel company" then they can insist all they want, but if I still said "no, thank you" then what?]

Am not interested in what insurance might be desirable or recommended or necessary, That depends on an individual's perceived risk vs cost vs benefit. It is a personal choice. Debatable (e.g. UK visitor to US really needs to get medical insurance and $500,000 would do it, not multiple millions - imo).

\What is new is proof of coverage required by a government for a foreign visitor to enter the country. Thailand had a US$10,000 health insurance coverage requremnt that got lifted on July 1. It was because of COVID and not required pre-pandemic. If I were to enter Japan today as a tourist then I (think I) would need a visa and travel medical insurance. Neither were needed pre-pandemic.

And then there are the bits above for Ireland ans France. Especially the bit on the Ireland website that mentioned that other useful documents may include proof of insurance.

I take that to mean that proof of insurance is not required for entry. Am guessing an immigration officer might ask about it, or might not. I could show my BCBS insurance card which does provide coverage and maybe my sister would show her Medicare card (tranitional Medicare would not provide coverage but her Medicare Advantage Plan might - as if an Irish immigration officer would know the difference or even care given the only entry requirement is a valid passport).

I don't need to buy med insurance for Ireland and don't want to buy it just to have the documentation to answer a question that an immmigration officer might ask. I just don't understand that "may be useful" bit, so I would be inclined to wing it.

France says you must have an insurance certificate. I understand "must" and would be in compliance. But, I imagine that there lots of Americans entering Ireland and France today, tomorrow, who are clueless and I wonder what happens then.