Passport expiration warning
 

A friend of mine was scheduled to visit Norway to see the northern lights, stay in an ice hotel and experience a bucket list of things. When they got to airport, they were informed they were not allowed to fly as they had less than 6 months on passport and so they went home. Luckily, they had travel insurance and reworked trip so they went to Alaska and they did see the lights and some of the things they had planned in Norway
I have been looking online and I see no information that you need 6 months on passport to travel between US and Norway- so any info on where you would find information accurate information.

I know some countries do require 6 months but I don't think Norway and the US are on the list

I think six months is pretty standard. I ran into this problem a few years ago, and had to rush to get my passport renewed by making an emergency appointment. My trip was to Germany, and even though I read conflicting info on various sites (some said three months, others said six), I didn't want a nasty surprise at the airport.

PS - and that six months is based on your return date - meaning you need six months validity beyond the end of your trip

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...help/faqs.html

Some countries require that your passport be valid at least six months beyond the dates of your trip. Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met.

The six months makes sense to me. They don't want you over-staying your time as a tourist (usually six months max) and would want your passport to be valid when you must return home.

A US passport must be valid for at least 6 months since the last day of your vacation to be allowed back into United States.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...is%20not%20met.

This is good information. Thank you for posting.

I was very surprised when I first learned of this but heard it a few years ago. This post may well be helpful as I don't think this is very common knowledge.

The 6 months rule has been in effect for ages. It's basically the Schengen countries in Europe. It's not a requirement for the UK (just validity for the duration of your visit), but you can't transit onward from there to a Schengen country without the 6 months. The airlines are liable for the cost of bringing you back if they let you fly and the country doesn't let you in so they are pretty careful about checking.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...#ExternalPopup

I can't find any information on line that shows you can't travel between Norway and the US with only 6 months left on passport. I know some countries require 6 months and some 3 months. So if anyone has a link that shows 6 months I would appreciate.

Dayenu- I checked the link you sent but didn't see what I was looking for. Did I miss something?

Dayenu, I don’t believe that a US citizen wouldn’t be allowed back in the USA. Can you quote the specific part of your reference that says that?

[QUOTE=sunbum1944;17454864]I can't find any information on line that shows you can't travel between Norway and the US with only 6 months left on passport. I know some countries require 6 months and some 3 months. So if anyone has a link that shows 6 months I would appreciate.

It's right in the link provided above but here it is again "Six months recommended"

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...es/Norway.html

A US citizen can enter the US (and Canada) right up to the last day of validity on the passport. Up until sometime last year a US citizen could even enter the States with an expired passport but that has recently changed.

Gretchen thanks- I see that now. It does say “recommended” means enforced.

This is incorrect. "The six-month validity requirement does NOT apply to an American citizen using a U.S. passport to enter the United States or Canada. He/she may do so up until the date of expiration of the passport." https://hk.usconsulate.gov/u-s-citiz...validity-left/

As explained in post #12 - thanks for the link.

And all the information I find about Norway is that 6 months is recommended but no where says required. I hope my friends trip to Norway was not cancelled incorrectly. Seems there is a lot of misunderstanding of the rules.

Would have they been let into the country if they arrived? Probably, but as stated above the airline errs on the side of caution as they are responsible for returning the passenger back home at their cost if the person is not allowed entry. Had they contacted the airline they likely would have been told what the airline needed...

Anyone who ignores the recommendation in order to test the actual rules does so at their own risk.... caveat viator.

Airline check in staff are supposed to use the guidance in IATA Timatic, which shows the entry requirements for every country.

When you make an international air reservation you are usually asked for passport info when you make the reservation. So you’d think that if they put in passport number and expiration date it would raise a red flag at that time.
But who knows.

This is what Timatic says:

Norway - Destination PassportPassport required.

Document Validity

Passports and other documents accepted for entry must be valid for a minimum of 3 months beyond the period of intended stay.

Additional Information

As Svalbard is outside the Schengen area, passengers traveling from Oslo (OSL) to Longyearbyen (LYR) via Tromso are required to pass through passport control at Tromso.

Warning

Passports and/or passport replacing documents issued more than 10 years prior to date of entry are not accepted.