lincasanova

I don't know. I read up on the country I am going to visit and follow their rules.. pretty point blank.

Lexma90

Cautionary tale from a couple of years ago, with the caveat that I don't recall the exact expiration dates involved.

My 15yo daughter was flying to Austria to train with her two ski coaches and the rest of their ski team. One of the coaches' passport was due to expire at some time soon-ish, and they even checked with the Austrian Embassy to make sure the passport had enough time left on it. Which they were told it did.

Teens and coaches are at the departure airport with a ton of ski equipment. Coaches began checking in, only to find that the coach did NOT have enough time on the passport, because they were flying into Munich, where of course German rules apply. Coach had to leave, find an emergency passport renewal office, and joined the group a day or two later.

suze

<That is my quibble.>

Your "quibble" doesn't change the rules.

nukesafe

What I don't understand is why Julies cares about "wasting" a few months of passport validity. A passport costs $110 USD. They are good for ten years. You will need to renew it soon, anyway.

The very few bucks the "unused" months represent are such a small portion of the cost of your trip as to be insignificant. A Coke at a cafe in Paris could cost you more.

Quitchourbitchin over trifles and enjoy your trip to Europe.

dreamon

On a separate mystifying (to me anyway) rule... Why do some airlines (and sometimes train services) insist that you present the credit card with which you purchased the tickets? Why do they need to have it if the ticket is in your name and matches your passport? We were once almost refused boarding because my husband didn't bring the appropriate credit card. I couldn't decide whether to cry or hit him. Talk about a stressful start to a family holiday!

annhig

no idea, Dreamon. This is a requirement of Sri Lankan airlines I know - they even have some sort of regulation that covers you if someone else pays for your tickets.

MarthaT

What Nukesafe said!

suze

"It would seem to me"

"I don't get why"

As everyone's pointing out, it doesn't matter what you think or what you understand. The list in life of things that might not make sense to any one person is a LONG one! -haha-

Dukey1

"It would seem to me that the possession of a plane ticket with a return date would be proof that one would not be staying a long time,..."

Why are <B>you</B> assuming that because somebody has a plane ticket for a specific date they are always going to use it on that date?

mokka4

When I RETURNED to the Us last year I had just over 6 months left on my passport. As I exited Switzerland, they questioned whether I planned to RETURN to Switzerland in the remaining 6 months because "it will not be allowed." I assured him that I would be procuring a new passport ASAP!

Edward2005

What is this aversion to renewing a passport? There are no needles involved, no exorbitant expense, no tests, and no lines. Just get it done already. Criminy.

NewbE

Way to pile on, guys. You all are the ones making a big deal about this and posting repeatedly to underscore points already made. The OP made a couple of reasonable posts, that's it. And said that s/he would renew. So let it go.

Edward2005

I like a good pile-on. Sometimes it's the only way to get a point across.

NewbE

Well, the OP said she would be renewing her passport now in her original post, so I think you're the one who's slow to grasp the point, Edward.

wesleymarsh

>>What is this aversion to renewing a passport?<<

I know a few women who dreaded giving up their 10-year-old passport photo. The thought of going through another photo shoot scared the bejesus out of them.

I learned about this 6-month issue the hard way. I had a business trip scheduled for Italy. My return date was 4 months before my passport was due to expire. I thought I was perfectly safe. Less than 1 week before my flight, while searching for other things, I came across info regarding this issue. I thought I better call the airline to ask. They told me that in Italy the airline would refuse my entering the plane. Before I could leave the country, I would have to renew via the U.S. Embassy. All the costs associated with the delay would be mine.

You can imagine my horror. I scurried to contact the local agency here in the U.S. They basically said the same thing. I had time to renew (maybe 5 business days), but it would cost me the expedited edition. I'm guessing it was close to $300. I wasn't happy, but I really had no choice. I was furious with myself because I knew it was coming, and I had plenty of time to take care of it. But I stupidly thought I was in OK condition, because 4 months seemed like plenty of cushion time. Nobody cared what I thought, and my stupidity cost me in panic, anxiety, and hundreds of dollars that I did not need to spend on this nonsense.

Lesson learned.