rogerdodger

I am planning a trip to England and Scotland this November for two weeks. Will the fact that my passport expires within a short period thereafter be a cause for concern?

dhl56

I'd check it out. I had a friend that arrived at the Atl airport to head to Costa Rica and his passport was within two month of expiring and they would not let him fly. He had to fly to Miami, get an updated passport and then fly back to Atl and catch a flight out the next day....all of course at his expense.

traveler100

Technically the rule is your passport must be valid for six months past your return date. The problem is some personnel follow the rule, others don't. In this age of heightened security I would just go ahead and renew it. I am travelling in Oct, my pp expires in Feb. 07 so I just renewed it. Why take the chance....

Katie2

You definitely should renew your passport before you go. Go to the US Dept. of State's website and there are forms which you may print for passport renewal.

We recently renewed our passports at our local post office. We paid the extra $60 per passport to have them expedited. It took about 2 weeks to receive them.

alanRow

< Technically the rule is your passport must be valid for six months past your return date >

No it isn't, the UK & US have an agreement that as long as your passport is valid on the day of arrival then it's OK for up0 to 6 months.

Most other western countries will allow you to enter as long as your passport is valid on the day you leave

But as renewing a passport is easy even these days & you can carry unpexired time over why not renew now

MaureenB

I have asked this same question on another thread. It seems each country has different requirements. The Schengen countries might all have the same.

For instance, here's what the Costa Rican embassy told me in a ne-mail last week:
"For U.S. citizens:
VISA REQUIREMENT: none
LENGTH OF STAY: maximum of 90 days
All adults and children require the following documents to enter Costa Rica:
· A passport valid for at least 30 days (expiration date has to be 30 days or more after arrival date). In the case of minors, if they do not have a passport, they should be included in the passport of one of the parents.
· A pre-paid airline ticket to exit Costa Rica (either to return to your country or to go to another country - within 90 days-)

I'm surprised your friend going to Costa Rica was turned away with a passport good for more than 30 days after arrival date. Must have been a U.S. regulation. Is it true our U.S. passports must be valid for 6 months?? I've never heard that length of time.

crazychick

< Technically the rule is your passport must be valid for six months past your return date >

No it isn't, the UK & US have an agreement that as long as your passport is valid on the day of arrival then it's OK for up0 to 6 months.

Most other western countries will allow you to enter as long as your passport is valid on the day you leave.
I have known in the past a freind in the group we were traveling with be advised to get hsi passport renewed as it was due to expired 3 months after the date we were traveliing home. This site gives good advsie to Uk peole there must be something similar for people outside like the USA etc.


http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?...=1098377476175

ira

Hi R,

You will have to renew it when you return anyway, so why not do it now?

suze

Just renew the passport. Why not do it now?

janisj

&quot;<i>Technically the rule is your passport must be valid for six months past your return date.</i>&quot; As others have said that is absolutely NOT true. Each country you are entering has it's own requirements.

For the UK you are OK - But I would definitely renew it now. There are all sorts of what ifs and since you need to renew it as soon as you get back anyway, I'd just do it now. You can renew at any time w/i the passport's final year.

mulifat

There are many destinations in the world now requiring your passport to be valid from 3 to 6 months AFTER your return. This is relatively new. You cannot afford to be doing any guesswork on something like this so if you have any doubt, do your due diligence and get a definite answer, or just get the thing renewed before you go.

rogerdodger

Thanks for your replies. I didn't want to renew if I didn't have to before this trip. The reason is due to the fact that I will not be going on other &quot;out of country&quot; trips for some time, perhaps a year or more after this one, and I didn't want to risk the possibility of my passport getting lost or delayed. Thanks again.

mari5

Yes, it does vary from country to country. You might call the British Embassy, but prepared to get a possible inaccurate answer,,,,,or a different answer if you call back. This happened to us a couple of years ago.
YOu would probably get by with your current passport, but why (in these times) take a chance,,,when it is simple to do it my mail. Even IF you are not going again for another year or more , it's good for 10 years and well worth having for piece of mind)! Since they tell you it takes 6 weeks, (usually doesn't) and you have to send in your passport, be sure and take care of early enough to avoid worry and hassle.

ira

Hi R,

&gt;..didn't want to risk the possibility of my passport getting lost or delayed.&lt;

Go to http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
for directions on renewing passports.

Send it by Certified Mail Return Receipt.

You should get it back within a month.

For about $60 more, you will get expedited service.