...because I have a subcontractor who I work with frequently who had never heard of it, and unfortunately he and his wife found out about it the really hard way when they had to cancel their vacation to Jamaica because the airline wouldn't allow them to board the plane.

 

Per the US Department of State: U.S. citizens traveling on passports that expire in fewer than six months have increasingly been denied airline boarding or been detained upon arrival in certain foreign destinations, including popular European travel destinations in the Schengen area. This is not a new requirement, but it is only recently that the requirement has been more strictly enforced.

 

 

The rule is coming from the foreign countries...not from the United States. Here's a list of countries with 6 month validity rules in effect:

• Albania
  
• Angola
  
• Bahamas
  
• Bahrain
  
• Belize
  
• Bolivia
  
• Botswana
  
• Brazil
  
• Brunei
  
• Burma (Myanmar)
  
• Burundi
  
• China
  
• Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
  
• Ecuador (including Galápagos Islands)
  
• French Polynesia
  
• Guyana
  
• Honduras
  
• Indonesia
  
• Iran
  
• Iraq
  
• Jamaica
  
• Kenya
  
• Kiribati
  
• Kenya
  
• Kiribati
  
• Laos
  
• Mexico
  
• Madagascar
  
• Malaysia
  
• Mauritius
  
• Mozambique
  
• Namibia
  
• New Caledonia
  
• Nicaragua (currently waived by bilateral agreement)
  
• Oman
  
• Palau
  
• Papua New Guinea
  
• Philippines
  
• Saudi Arabia
  
• Singapore
  
• St. Lucia
  
• Taiwan
  
• Tajikistan
  
• Tanzania
  
• Thailand
  
• Timor-Leste (East Timor)
  
• Trinidad & Tobago
  
• Turkmenistan
  
• Uganda
  
• Ukraine
  
• Venezuela
  
• Vietnam
  
• Zambia
  

The Six Months Validity Rule is imposed by foreign countries, and not by the United States. It simply means that your passport should be valid for more than six months before you would be allowed to enter a foreign destination. This rule is in place so that if the un-expecting traveler needs to stay for a period up to six month his/her passport would be valid to leave the country.

Are you telling me that when I travel to the Bahamas in a couple of months, I might have issues, since my wife's passport expires a few weeks after we are scheduled to return?:banghead:

Are you telling me that when I travel to the Bahamas in a couple of months, I might have issues, since my wife's passport expires a few weeks after we are scheduled to return?:banghead:

 

Sounds like a renewal is necessitated.

 

I've never traveled out of the country. What's the process entail for getting a passport?

Sounds like a renewal is necessitated.

 

I've never traveled out of the country. What's the process entail for getting a passport?

 

I have. Practically live on the Ohio border.

Fill out a form.

Get a picture taken at Walgreens or wherever.

Visit post office that processes passports.

Pay fee.

Wait for passport to arrive.

Are you telling me that when I travel to the Bahamas in a couple of months, I might have issues, since my wife's passport expires a few weeks after we are scheduled to return?:banghead:

 

If I were you, I'd get her down the nearest passport office and pay to have a renewed passport expedited as soon as humanly possible.

If I were you, I'd get her down the nearest passport office and pay to have a renewed passport expedited as soon as humanly possible.

 

A friend of mine recently drove to British Columbia to pick up a vet box for his son-in-law and bring it back to Kentucky. Along the way, he was convinced that he would need a passport. He spent half a day in (I think) Minneapolis getting a one-year emergency passport processed. Cost something like 190 bucks or a little more.

 

But when he tried to leave Canada, he had to hang around for another half a day. Had to get bonded due to what he was hauling.

Fill out a form.

Get a picture taken at Walgreens or wherever.

Visit post office that processes passports.

Pay fee.

Wait for passport to arrive.

 

How much? I's kinda poor.

How much? I's kinda poor.

 

 

Fees

Fill out a form.

Get a picture taken at Walgreens or wherever.

Visit post office that processes passports.

Pay fee.

Wait for passport to arrive.

 

This can be a hassle too. It can take up to months, or you can expedite it (for a 'small' fee of course).

I've been travelling internationally my whole life and have never heard of this rule. Thanks for posting, CWB!

What does the passport card do?

Yes, I'm well aware

Never heard of this either and have been out of the country at least once for the past 5-6 years