Six Month Passport Validity Rule – 6 Month Validity Rule for Visitors Explained
What is the six month passport validity rule? When traveling overseas, most people know that a valid United States passport is required to enter an international destination. But, what is unknown to the traveler is that some countries would need to have enough six month validity on your passport to travel to the country which is known as the 6 months validity passport rule for visitors. Therefore, if your passport would expire within the next 6 months or some cases 3 months, some countries would refuse to give you entry into the country.
Hence, this rule is in place so that if the un-expecting visitor needs to stay for a period up to six months, his/her passport would be valid to leave the country.
What is the Six Month Passport Validity Rule?
The Six Month Validity Rule is imposed by foreign countries and not by the United States of America. It simply means that your passport should be valid for more than 6 months before you would be allowed to enter a foreign country that imposes the six-month rule. This rule is imposed by some of the countries we have listed below. This rule is very common in the Asian continent such as China and Hong Kong.
Countries That Enforce the Six Month Passport Rule
The six-month rule is enforced by countries outside the US and not the US. So, be aware when you plan to visit another country and know the rules when entering or leaving.
Central America
In Central America, almost all the countries enforce the six-month validity rule except one. They are: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua enforce the law. Panama and Honduras are the only two countries that impose a three-month validity rule.
Caribbean
Most countries in the Caribbean require you to have a passport with at least six months validity. The ones that do not are US Territories like US Virgin Island and Puerto Rico or The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. The ones that do require are Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.
South America
There are a handful of countries in South American that implemented the Six-Month Rule. They are Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. The others Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, require visitors to have a valid passport when entering.
Europe
In Europe, the rule was signed by a group of countries, and it is known as the Schengen Treaty. These countries include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The Schengen Treaty refers to a 3+3 rule where the passport must have a three-month validity and maximum stay time is three months. So, together the passport must have a minimum of six months validity to enter and stay in the country.
Africa
In Africa, some countries do apply the six-month rule while others require only a valid passport. Here is the list of countries that use the rule Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Middle East
Most Middle Eastern nations apply the six-month rule. These are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza Strip and Yemen.
Asia and India
Asian countries implement the six-month validity rule except for Hong Kong and Macau that use one-month validity. Russia and India also use the six-month rule.
South Pacific
All the countries in South Pacific, except the US Territories and New Zealand, require the six-month validity rule. New Zealand uses one-month validity for departure. The South Pacific countries that use the law are French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Expedite Passport Renewal
If your passport is about to expire, one recommendation is that you renew your passport nine (9) month before your passport expires. So, this would give you enough time to apply for a U.S. passport with the passport office.
For expedited passport renewal which is if you are traveling within fourteen (14) days or thirty (30) days and if a visa is required, then you have to fill out the Application Form DS-82 and apply at a regional passport agency.
The post offices are not recommended in this situation. As the turnaround time to expedite a passport renewal at the post offices is two (2) to four (4) weeks. Hence, you have two option to expedite your passport. The recommended option is by visiting a passport agency in your area. The other option would be a private expediting company. But, these companies charges for their services which can range from $79 to $399.00.
Overall
Even though many countries implemented the six-month validity rule, there are other restrictions enforced to enter these countries. Some require a passport to have one clean page per stamp or at least one available sheet. Also, a visa is a requirement to enter some countries. Be aware of this significant document because without it, when it is required, you will not be allowed to board your flight or enter the country you plan to visit.
It is best and wise to have a passport with plenty of validity before travel. Also, it is necessary to know some laws of the country you plan to visit to avoid any mishaps or know what to do when you are there.
Do Barbados or Canada require 6 month validity. Passport expires Jan 2019. Going to Canada August 2018 and Barbados November 2018. Thanks for the help.
FRANCE, PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area UK, PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid for duration of your stay (six months remaining validity recommended) please confirm with airline
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid at the time of entry and exit. please confirm with your airline
both only enforce passport be valid duration of stay
the US does not enforce a passport validity
yes the US does not enforce a passport validity
from the date your passports are processed
PASSPORT VALIDITY: 6 months recommended, 3 months beyond your departure is required. please confirm with airline
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Six months recommended, Three months beyond departure date from the Schengen area. please confirm with airline
yes, please confirm with airline
My passport expires on Aug 11 2018 and going to Jamaica in June 2018 returning on June 10. Will I be okay??
Hi, I live in Texas. My mother in law is from Mexico. We are going to Paris, London and Barcelona this month. My mother’s in law Mexican Passport expires in 4 months. Will she have problems to travel to Europe? We will depart and come back to Houston and then she will flight back to Mexico. Would there be any problems because her passport expires in 4 months? Does she need a new passport?
Going from Canada to puerto Vallarta Mexico would be ok then? I don’t see those on the list.
Does the 6 months rule apply while exiting india to enter usa for a US citizen?
Can a US citizen enter usa with less than 2 months of passport validity remaining after the date of return?
Our passports expire January 2019. Next year we will be going to Canada in August 2018 and Barbados November 2018. Will we be OK with our current passport. If we were to renew would the 10 year validity be from date of our current passport, or would it be from date of new passport processed date?
What about Spain. I don’t see it on here but my sister was just denied going on her flight
What about czech republic
My flight stops in Germany for 1 hour and continues to Poland will Germany give me a problem
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid at time of entry please confirm with your airline
is it a US Passport card?
My passport will expire September 15,2018, i am travelling to Australia on March 3 to 18, 2018 .They have the six months validity rule in their country? Am i safe to travel . Is the validity of my passport is from march 15 to september 15 ? I have no idea how to count the six months validity period , please help.
Hi! If my boyfriend´s International card (ID) is valit until april 2018 and he is coming to Sweden in november 2017 does he need a new ID-card?
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid at time of entry please confirm with your airline
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Duration of stay
NZ PASSPORT VALIDITY: Three months beyond the planned date of departure from New Zealand. AUS PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid at time of entry
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Three months beyond the planned date of departure from New Zealand.
PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid at the time of entry and exit.
Im traveling to Argentina with my 11 year old daughter. Her passport expires 5 month and 3 weeks when we get there. Is it going to be a problem? I don’t see Argentina in the list but you never know…
Does Jamaica have the 6 month rule???