Passport
 

I am leaving for a week in London on March 8th and just saw a potentially disturbing sentence regarding passports in one of my guide books . It stated that your passport must be valid for six months from the date of entry (that statement is also in one other book I have on Britain, but not in a third). My passport expires in June of this year meaning that it will only be valid for three months from my date of entry (of course I'll be home long before it expires).
I have been to the official British touist site and it simply states that a valid passport is required.
Does anyone know for certain if I need to try to have my passport renewed before my trip?
Any expert advice will be appreciated!

Hi jm,

This has been a matter of concern in the past.

It seems to be the case that most countries only want your passport valid for 90 days, even though their regulations might say six months.

You ought to call the local British consulate to make sure.

Thanks, Ira. I sent an e-mail to the British Consulate this morning. I'll follow up with a phone call on Monday.
Thanks for the advice!

My pleasure, JM

Hi, My brand new U.S.passport was issued Febr. 15, 2003 and I left for England/Ireland on April 19 and returned May 19, 2003. No problem anywhere with the length of time I had it.

The question concerns how long the passport will remain valid AFTER your entry, not how long you have held it prior to your entry.

jamrion-

Even if you have to renew your passport, you still have plenty of time to do so. You just have to pay for the Expedited Service (extra $60) for your application. This is assuming you live in or close by a big city.
http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html

I went to London last October with less than 6 months left on my passport. I called the British Consultate and they told me it would be fine (and it was).

Hi:

I am not sure about London, but I just tried to get a Visa for China. My Passport had 2 Months to go and the consulate refused to issue the visa!
I am scrambling now to get an express service since I need to leave next week!
6 Months was written on the small print in the consulate office wall!
John

Thank you, jame. I had hoped that what you experienced would be the case - I'll still double check with the Consulate.
Thanks again.

The official British position is that your passport must be valid for the length of your intended stay in the UK, although most visitors automatically get 6 months on entry. But as you are on a fixed itinerary, you shouldn't have any problem. I'm sure the consulate will say the same.

In this circumstance in Italy ( and they do check passports for this sometimes on entry) they ask to see your return air ticket to ensure you are booked to return prior to the expiry.

Is this a U.S. issue or rather a concern of the country one is visiting? In my case, I plan to return from France on April 7 and my passport expires on May 1. Should I be concerned?

Hopefully it doesn't depend on the individual checking your passports and on a whim decides to make an issue of your passport expiration.
But, this did happen to my brother in law, he had a passport which was near expiration and he was rejected entry at an airport either in France or Italy I forget which one. I just remember it was really a hassle for him, and sorry, I can't remember whether he came home or took care of it there.
I think you should try to get something in writing, you never know when an official wants to get official.

Since US passports are good for 10 years and not expensive to apply for or renew, am wondering why people don't keep them current (and a bit ahead)? Seems like cheap insurance to avoid the potential negative siutations posters are worrying about.

Also, even if you get someone at the consulate to say that the passport is fine, or you get someone on this thread to say it's fine, that doesn't mean that the customs official at the airport will say the same. I would get it renewed.

Well, I phoned the airline (United). The operator checked some document she claims it updated daily and said for France, an American passport need only be valid for the duration of the stay. I take it many of you would not be satisfied with this unofficial answer. I am not sure that I am.

Could someone please explain the issue -- why do certain countries require a passport to be valid for a period of time following the return from that country? Thank you.

What a waste of time to be asking this sort of question here when the obvious answer is to go ahead and renew it which accomplishes two things: the renewal and the elimination of worry. But I guess some folks will do anything to save a few bucks.

thanks jonjon. You've been most helpful.

Irego, you really should renew your passport. It makes very little difference what a UA customer service rep says on the phone. It is not up to her if you are allowed to enter France -- it is the choice of the French immigration official at CDG or where ever you land.

How would you feel - being put on the next flight home even tho' UA said you would be OK?

Iregeo -- whether you are let in to a country is up to that country. It's up to France, whether they want your passport to be valid for a certain amount of time before they let you in the country. Or the UK or Germany or whereever. They are allowed to make and enforce whatever rules or regulations they want to without the US approving them.

As far as I know, the US doesn't care for how long your passport is valid when you travel as long as it is still valid when you return to the US. I do suspect you may have trouble upon return if your passport has expired.

I wholeheartedly agree with the other posters who suggested you really should just renew it....and would add that you should have done so before you get ready to leave. Even if I'm not planning to travel, I feel more comfortable keeping it up to date. Even if you planned to return prior to expiration, things happen. People have accidents or something else could happen to keep one out of the country longer than planned.

From what I have read, the country you are entering is concerned that if you are delayed in exiting their country, your passport will still be valid.

I would renew it too because of heightened security you never know, better to be safe than sorry.

(oiesz) 0

Thank you all. the issue arose because I decided on a last minute trip. I will definately renew on an expedited basis.

Iregeo, you've just validated why I always keep mine up to date.....you never know when you'll get an unplanned opportunity.

I even convinced my brother to get a passport a few years ago and he keeps it updated. He's never been out of the country and may never go.....but you just never know and it would be terrible to miss an opportunity because your passport wasn't ready to go when you were. :)

Expert advice is...you will be fine so long as your passport is valid for your stay. I should know I'm one of the people who lets you in!!

Lisa_B, presumably you are one of the people who lets passengers into the US - which may or may not be applicable to someone going to France.

Almost "Catch 22"! One site simply notes that a passport is required to enter UK. Visa information site says 'ample validity required'. I also seem to remember that it is possible to get a new passport at the US Embassy. Surprizingly there is no simple statement about passport validity requirement.

That might be because of the underlying general principle of the immigration rules that they have to be satisfied that you don't intend to settle, or to put it another way, there are no absolute rules guaranteeing entry or preventing refusal. Mind, it probably helps to look rich...

I remember reading a "Time Out New York" article on apartment swapping that a reporter for the magazine for the feature article got into London with an *expired* passport -- apparently the immigration officer didn't even bother checking if the passport is still valid.

I wouldn't recommend it, of course.

I would be with Willtravel on this one. Even if an official in a consulate tells you everything will be fine, it won't prevent the guy at the airport to tell you "he was wrong. You're going back to where you came on the next plane". So, I would definitely follow the official rules and have my passport renewed if necessary, advices to the contrary not withstanding.

My husband and I always renew our passports a minimum of 6 months PRIOR to expiration. Within 6 months, there are too many countries that won't allow you to enter (or obtain a visa) and you never know when you may need to travel on short notice.

Marion,
I understand your dilemma...my husband and I travel alot and he completely overlooked that fact that his passport (US) would expire within two months of our trip to Prague, England and Venice over the holidays.

At first I was so mad because he realized it at the last minute but he said he was sure it would be no problem despite the fact that the embassy websites said otherwise.

Others may say supercilously that they always renew their passports and I have always done so too...but it's a mistake that's easier to make than some assume.

Anyway, we went to Prague, London and Venice all by air and nobody batted an eyelash. Of course this doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't have a problem, or that it's a great idea, but in our case there was no difficulty entering any of the countries involved.

Hope that helps!

After reading all these opinions, I called the French Consulate in Miami where we live and the British Embassy in Washington. My husband's passport will expire 4 months after we return from London and Paris and I did not want a problem. We are leaving in two weeks so we needed to do something quick if we had to. Well, FYI the person from the French Consulate said absolutely there needs to be 6 months left on his passport to enter France. The British Embassy said as long as the passport is not expired for the lenghth of our trip, it will be fine. So, long story short, we fed exed overnight the passport application renewal with a return over night fed ex enclosed, and we should have it next week. Maybe this will help the next person. We have traveled all over the world and had never known of this policy of 6 months until expiration. The Fodors Message Board is indeed a valuable tool to avoid problems such as this. Thanks all who posted.

A friend of mine was detained enroute to Prague by British Airways. Her passport was going to expire in less than 3 months. They finally let her get on the plane to Prague, but they had taken her luggage off the plane, because of the detainment. Long story short - she was without luggage for 10 days, and BA was very rude & unapologetic. Better safe than sorry......

Don't assume that if no 6 month expire rule exist for one country it exists for another. The information is available, don't just take someones word.

I guess you are back now from your trip to London.
I presume everything was fine.

To WillTravel-Don't assume everyone here is from the US i am a Brit and as such that qualifies me to comment on her entry to the U.K only, not anyone elses postings, that may have tagged on

To lisa_b--It sounds like you work for UK customs. I will be travelling to the UK with 6 1/2 months left on my passport. I'm glad to know it will be OK for the UK, but do you know the requirements for Switzerland and France? Thanks.