I’ve Traveled to Nearly 100 Countries, These Are My 7 Top Passport Tips

I’m a travel journalist who recently traveled to Greece for work. During my trip, one of the other travel journalists attending wasn’t allowed to board their flight because they had less than six months left on their passport before expiration. Many countries require passports be valid for six months beyond the date of your return flight home.

Specific durations can vary from country to country. For instance, some countries only require three months’ validity in a passport. If your passport has a validity period that expires before your return date from the trip, the airline may deny boarding, or customs agents may refuse entry to the country.

“Read all possible details on the travel requirements. People often check travel requirements superficially, only to discover later that they overlooked the fine print. Their passports might not match the validity requirements, their “visa-free” travels were restricted to 30 or 90 days, or they lacked the necessary funds to show at the border,” Georgia Fowkes, a travel advisor for Altezza Travel, says.

U.S. adult passports are valid for 10 years and can be renewed online. Children under 16 must reapply for a new passport every five years and may not reapply online; the process must be completed in person with their parents. The best way to research the passport validity requirement of the country you’re traveling to is to check the official government website.

Ensure your passport is in suitable condition. My U.S. passport will expire this year, and after using it for a decade, it’s pretty rough—the motif and lettering on the cover are barely legible.

Your passport may be considered invalid if it has torn pages, water damage, bites from pets, a missing cover, or other damage. I’m paranoid about keeping my passport in pristine shape, so I store it in a passport cover at all times. Although the crest has mostly worn off the front, I’ve been able to use it nearly monthly since 2016 without any issue.

Countries are allowed to require two to four blank visa pages in your passport for visas that occupy an entire page, as well as entry and exit stamps. Some countries require two consecutive blank pages. I have only three pages left in my passport, which expires in April.

To avoid running out of blank visa pages, I plan to renew it before it expires. The U.S. no longer allows adding pages to existing passports, so even if you have several years of validity remaining, you’ll have to renew your passport. I have sticky notes on my blank pages begging that they not be stamped, which can sometimes be met with annoyance from customs agents.

Many destinations require visas that may take days or weeks to obtain. Even eVisas, which are convenient and help avoid long visa-on-arrival lines at the airport, still need planning. Always verify the latest visa requirements for your destination to prevent complications. ItsEasy.com has a trustworthy database of visa requirements by country, allowing travelers to research the visa requirements of the destinations they intend to visit.

Digital authorizations, such as the U.K.’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), are becoming increasingly popular. Australia also requires an ETA, and many countries now require a traveler declaration form, such as the Maldives and Chile. Online systems for visas are becoming widespread. “Re-check [visa requirements] roughly a month before your trip to make sure nothing has changed. Travel requirements for U.S. citizens are getting tighter and on short timelines, too,” Fowkes says. For instance, the EU Entry/Exit System became operational last year, and China is now offering visa-free entry to many nationalities.

REAL IDs are now required for travel within the United States, and many travelers are experiencing lengthy wait times for DMV appointments to update their Driver’s License or state ID to be REAL ID-compliant. It may be faster to get a U.S. passport card, which is $30 and is a REAL ID-compliant alternative to a REAL ID driver’s license or state ID.

U.S. citizens can use a passport card to re-enter the country by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and some Caribbean countries. If you already have a passport book, you can apply for a passport card. I recently got one in tandem with renewing my passport. The passport card is valid for 10 years (for adults), compact enough to carry in your wallet, and doesn’t include your home address—adding an extra layer of privacy.

Be cautious of misleading websites that claim to be official passport renewal services. Many of these sites overcharge, provide subpar customer service, or are outright scams. These phony websites often charge fees to fill out the forms you can access for free on the official government passport renewal sites. Scam sites also collect sensitive personal information, which can be a security risk.

“Check the official U.S. sources for requirements and stay away from blogs. Use the official government website of the destination country to check the requirements listed there,” Fowkes says.

Scan and email yourself a copy of your passport, visa, and travel itinerary, and keep a printed copy in your carry-on bag in case your documents are lost or stolen. I take a photo of my visa stamp upon arrival at a destination, as hotels often require a copy of it. With only three empty pages left in my passport, it’s quite a challenge to track down a specific visa. The U.S. Department of State advice is to make multiple copies of required documents to help replace originals in case of emergency.