Bad Experience
 

I just want to say we just had the worst experience due to our own fault. My husband and I were ready to meet family over Thanksgiving. We get to the airport and are told my husbands passport was due to expire in December and he could not go. Period final. We had to come home we lost the plain fare, nearly $700.00 and a non refundable hotel of $600.00. We were on our way to Lisbon Portugal. Please make sure your travel documents meet all requirements. We were so frustrated and disappointed.

Sorry you had that experience, but good to remind folks to check before it is too late.

Sorry to hear that! It's a good idea to renew a passport a year ahead, which unfortunately means a ten year passport is really only good for nine.

Ouch! I only just remembered to renew mine, but only because I had no empty pages left - a requirement for many countries as is the 6 month remaining before expiration. At least with British passports any unexpired time (I think up to 18 months) is added to the new passport.

Often we hear stories where the poster blames everyone and everything for their misfortune, when the truth is, they messed up. Refreshing that you are able to accept responsibility and be kind enough to share your experience so others can avoid the same mistake.

I don’t know your circumstances, but if it had been me, I think I would have gone anyway and let hubby fend for himself.

The British approach makes good sense. Wish we had that in Canada.

We certainly feel "stupid." He actually urged me to go, but I felt bad leaving him over Thanksgiving holiday and it was actually his family we were meeting so it would have been can you say "awkward." had I gone. I would have felt uncomfortable. We are pretty seasoned travelers!! We did London Paris Amsterdam in May. I renewed mine for 10 years. I simply forgot about his--such a disappointment truly it is--just thought I would share.

What a shame :(

(Or -- do I detect a 'teensy' deep breath - not visiting w/ the in-laws ;) )

I do hope you get a chance to travel someplace fun -- after DH renews his passport.

You are so direct and honest about it, I am really sorry for your experience. My husband just tonight reminded me that we need to get ours renewed. Thank you for reminding everyone once again.

I am really sorry you had to forego your trip. Good lesson and reminder for everyone reading here.

That is a terrible thing to happen, but who told you that you could not go? There is nothing to indicate that your passport should be valid beyond your travel dates for Portugal. I assume the expiry date of the passport is Dec 31 and you would have been back before then? Did some jobsworth at the airport turn you away? Or did you transit a country that does require 6 months?

I've just come back from the US with a passport only valid for a further 5 months and I had to apply for a new ESTA as my old one expired. Normally it is valid for 2 years but this time it was only valid for 5 months and expires same time as my passport. The US also does not have any minimum validity of passport, but it should be valid for the duration of the trip. I certainly do not intend to renew my passport until about Feb, even though I have a trip to South Africa at Christmas.

Portugal requires six months, do your research.

http://www.embassyportugal-us.org/visa-information/

It is not unusual for countries to require passport validity for three or six month beyond either date of entry or date of exit. It is impossible to make a blanket statement about this issue, as it depends of the nationality of the traveler and the country being visited. You might want to check the South African requirements.

>>There is nothing to indicate that your passport should be valid beyond your travel dates for Portugal.<<

Wrong -- and the airline was perfectly correct to deny boarding. If they had allowed him to fly, the Portuguese would most likely have denied him entry and it would have been the airlines responsibility to fly him back to the States.

>>I certainly do not intend to renew my passport until about Feb, even though I have a trip to South Africa at Christmas.<<

Be sure you have two consecutive blank pages in your nearly 10yo passport or you very well might be in the same boat as diann24's DH.

Really refreshing to hear this side, as other's have said; usually it's a case of the blame game. Very sorry to hear, but thank you for sharing - I'll definitely make more of an effort to remember everything next time I travel.

janisj is correct we stated we will go to a consulate office immediately upon entering Portugal, she said they will not allow you to go through customs, you will be returned on the next plane back to the U.S. We went to a supervisor. We just didn't walk away. On top of all this I have spent countless hours on the phone waiting for a response to what is the change fee?? I cannot find an answer to that question. This was TAP Portugal airlines. I am hearing $350 but is that per ticket or a total? I cannot get an answer. Yes his passport did not expire till after we returned home. I believe he said 6 months in essence a passport is not good only 9.5 years not 10. Gheez! it makes no sense to spend another $700 to recoup $670.00. it is just chasing bad money. Our credit card carries insurance but not for this reason. $700 air and $500 hotel. Down the drain.

OH man, what a PIA. So sorry you had to suffer this instead of your trip. Well, think of the next one....and know that your posting has helped others.

Well, my hat to you Diann.

You are a great person to recognize your own stupidity ;-) and to warn others.

It can happen to anyone nearly happened to me, so a reminder is always good.

On another note, I am amazed at some people who just say they will not renew their passport because they know better. What is the cost of a passport ? What is the cost of a failed holiday ?

WoinParis exactly right there is no sense in taking any chances like that not at all. NO sense!! Yes my passport is good till 2026 I renewed prior to going to London, Paris Amsterdam it was in May 2016. I remember saying to DH you need to get this renewed before we go to Aruba in Feb. then in July this trip popped up. We got tickets in July all that time has passed. Well lesson learned it will never happen again!!

Don't feel bad. This time last year, I had to leave my sister behind when going to visit the Christmas markets in Germany. When I booked her ticket in July, I noticed the date and said to renew her passport before going. Since I'm her little sister, she ignored me. It was not fun to see her crying at the airport when they refused to issue her boarding pass.

Long story short, she showed up in Germany 3 days later. She got an emergency passport the day after Thanksgiving. All she could say was she didn't know. She did as I told her but I'm not a travel expert so what do I know?