Can I travel with less than 6 months until my passport Expires?

In most countries, you can’t travel without 6 months validity on your passport, but in some countries, you can.  The rules vary quite a bit depending on where you are going…

Earlier this year I had to return to my home country Canada because my passport was scheduled to expire in July of 2018.  Luckily, it was very easy to renew my passport and now I have 10 more years on my new passport.  I don’t know why so many countries require this six months until expiration, but they do and it isn’t something you can argue about at immigration.

There are lots of other rules as well regarding passport expiration dates.  I went out and researched the passport expiration rules for every country in the world,  just scroll down to find the country you want to visit.  If I forgot a country please let me know in the comments.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to Europe

Countries in the Schengen zone require you to have at least 3 additional months past your intended date of departure.  This includes Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.  Once you have a visa in the Schengen zone you are allowed to freely move between these countries without requiring another visa.

Georgia, Ireland, Kosovo, Monaco, The United Kingdom, The Vatican City, and Ukraine only require the passport to be valid during the length of stay.

Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria*, Croatia, Cyprus*, Macedonia, Montenegro follow the same rule as the Schengen Zone, you are required to have at least 3 months until expiration past your intended departure date.  EU nationals do not require this additional 3 months visiting Bulgaria, Cyprus, they only require a passport which is valid during the length of stay.

Romania* passport must be valid 3 months past the date of arrival.  For EU nationals visiting Romania, the passport only needs to be valid throughout the duration of the stay.

To enter Serbia the passport must be valid for 90 days beyond the date on which the visa is issued.

Andorra, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, San Marino, Turkey,  require validity for six months past the date of arrival.

Russia requires that the passport is valid 6 months after the expiration date of the Russian visa.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to North America

Canada, Mexico, and the United States generally do not require your passport to be valid beyond the date of departure.  Note Canada and the United States have very strict visa policies for certain countries you may be likely to get your visa application accepted if you have more than 6 months validity.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to Central America

To enter Costa Rica Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama you are required to have passport validity for 6 months beyond the date of arrival.

To enter Belize you are required to have passport validity for 6 months beyond the intended length of stay.

Honduras requires you to have a passport which is valid for 90 days beyond the date of entry.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to the Caribbean

The Bahamas require that you have a passport that expires 6 months after the date of departure.  British and American passport holders only require validity for the duration of stay as long they are staying for 21 days or less.

Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Bartholemy, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, require a passport which is valid for 6 months past the date of entry.

Barbados, The Dominican Republic*, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, only require a passport which is valid for the duration of your stay.  Note if you are visiting The Dominican Republic for any reason other than tourism, you are required to have at least 6 months validity beyond the date of arrival.

To enter Cuba your passport must be valid for 1 month beyond the intended departure date.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to South America

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela require that visitors have at least 6 months on their visa at the date of entry.

Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay require that you have validity throughout the duration of your stay.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to Oceania/Australia + South Pacific

French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu require that you have 6 months validity on your passport on the date of arrival.

The Cook Islands*, Fiji, and Samoa require you to have 6 months beyond your date of departure.  Australian nationals only require a visa which is valid up to 7 days beyond the date of departure when visiting The Cook Islands.

Nauru requires you to have 3 months beyond your date of arrival

Australia requires you to have validity throughout the duration of your stay.

New Zealand requires you have to have one-month validity past your departure date.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to Asia, the Middle East, and India

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan*, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam are require passports to have 6 months validity on the date of arrival.  Holders of American passports only need passport validity throughout the duration and their stay in Taiwan.  Holders Japanese passports only need validity for 3 months beyond their date of arrival in Taiwan.

Russia requires that the passport is valid for at least 6 months beyond the date on which the visa expires.

Japan and North Korea require your passport to be valid for the duration of your stay

Lebanon, South Korea, Syria, Uzbekistan require your passport to be valid 3 months after the date of arrival.

Iran and Saudi Arabia require your passport to be valid 6 months after the visa application is submitted.

Israel, Maldives, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Yemen require your passport to be valid 6 months after the date of departure.

Georgia requires your passport to be valid throughout the length of your stay.

Passport Expiration Rules for Traveling to Africa

Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Comoros, The Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa*, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe require passport validity of 6 months on arrival.  Technically South Africa is only supposed to require your passport to be valid for 1 month past arrival, but some people report immigration requiring 6 months.

Burkina Faso and Lesotho require the passport to be valid for 3 months beyond the intended departure date.

Guinea and Sierra Leone require the passport to be valid for 6 months after the date of application.

Benin, Djibouti, Malawi, and Morocco require the passport to be valid for 6 months beyond the intended departure date.

Angola requires the passport to be valid for nine months after the intended departure date.

Sao Tome requires that the passport is valid for 12 months beyond the arrival date.

Togo requires that the passport is valid for 12 months beyond the departure date.

Zambia requires the passport to be valid for 4 months on arrival.

Eritrea, Eswatini, Mauritania, Senegal and Tunisia require the passport to be valid for 3 months on arrival

Mauritius, Seychelles, and Somalia require that your passport is valid throughout the duration of your stay.

Libya is not currently issuing tourist visas.

Airlines sometimes enforce their own rules

There are reports of certain airlines not letting people onto airplanes if their passports expire within 3 or 6 months, even if this isn’t required by the destination country.  A lot of travel professionals mistakenly believe that every country requires 6 months until expiration on the passport.

If I meet the passport validity requirements does that guarantee me entry into a country?

Absolutely no!  Countries have all kinds of additional requirements depending on where you are from.  Usually, you are required to have purchased a return/onward ticket and have 2-3 empty pages in your passport.  Some countries also require a Yellow Fever vaccine and proof of sufficient funds.

The requirements also depend a lot on your purpose of visit.  It is almost always easier to get approved for a tourist visa than a working visa.  Some countries will give you a visa on arrival and some countries require you to apply ahead of time either by mailing your documents to the embassy or by filling out an online application.  Sometimes you won’t even be required to have a visa to enter certain countries.

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