Passport expiring in two months: actual experience?
I've heard different things, but I'm hoping to find someone with actual experience arriving and departing Italy with a U.S. passport that is only good for 2 months after your return date. They don't deny you the flight (when you check in) or entry into Italy, do they? I should have renewed my passport, but with only a week to go, its too late without spending at least a morning at the passport agency in San Francisco. Anyone been in my situation? Thanks.
Tom
Elk Grove, CA 10/29/09
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Sorry to reply to my own post, but I found something pretty specific, from Rick himself, writing on another website, Nola.com, that says:
"For example, at least seven countries require your passport to be valid for three to six months after your ticketed date of return: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland. While the law rarely is enforced, occasionally a traveler with a passport about to expire is not allowed to enter a country."
That's encouraging - I'm only concerned about Italy.
Same situation for me, Tom, but have 4 weeks instead of one before I go. Have read stuff on the web tonight (don't remember where) that said the 6 month thing was no joke. Sending in my expedited renewal tomorrow. Might be worth a morning in the passport office.
Tom,,, you may just get the one immigration officer who is having a bad day,, and it would be fully within their rights to not allow you to travel,, why risk it.
Trip insurance will not cover you in this instance.. are you feeling lucky?
Call the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles, and explain your situation. If the person you're talking to says you won't have a problem, make a note of the name and time you called, and you're good to go.
For what it's worth, I once entered entered Germany with just one month validity on my passport, and it wasn't an issue.
Check with the Italian consulate. I'd be pretty nervous, as I know that Germany requires at least 3 months (I was in a similar situation last year). Since they're both part of the Schengen zone, I imagine their policies would be similar if not identical.
Germany eliminated their passport-validity requirement a few years ago. To enter Germany your passport simply needs to be valid for the duration of your stay. The rule can be found in black & white at the German consulate website.
Germany is a Schengen country and follows the uniform rules set by the Schengen treaty. I can't find anywhere that Germany is any different than France or Iceland in regard to passport validity, however:
A Schengen visa is valid for the territory covered by the Schengen Treaty: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The following documentation must be provided:
* A passport or official travel document accepted by the Schengen countries and valid for at least three months longer than the validity of the visa with a blank page to affix the visa sticker.
Note: if the validity of a passport or official travel document is restricted to only a few Schengen countries, it is still possible to issue a visa. Its validity will, however, be limited only to the countries which accept the passport or official travel document.
So if Germany lets you in with a soon to expire passport, you may be denied entry into (or kicked out after entry since they don't check at the borders anymore) a neighboring country that has the three month rule.
Its a three month entry permit they give you, your passport should be good for the whole three months.
You can find more at US State Department. And some more at Expedia's UK site.
Good luck with the border guard! Hopefully you'll find some documentation that your soon to expire Visa is okay, you should have that with you to show as you move around.
One airline clerk at JFK can ruin your whole trip by denying you boarding of their plane.
From the consulate website (http://tinyurl.com/4j8q6q):
"...US citizens in possession of a valid US passport do not need a visa for airport transit, tourist or business trips (for stays up to 90 days). The passport must not expire before the end of the scheduled trip..."
In addition, myself and other travelers I've talked with have telephoned various consulates around the US and have confirmed it. I've also heard reports that Belgium and Luxembourg have also lifted their validity requirements.
Tom, I don't have any experience with this, but if were me I would be too nervous to chance it. I'd prefer to go to S.F. to take care of it. Of course with the Bay Bridge closed right now that is more easily said than done. You can always take BART, just don't go during commute hours. Have a great trip to Italy!
The main issue is not how much time is left on the passport but rather what would happen if you were delay in departing and the passport expired. There was posting on this sight several months ago about a mother and daughter who prevented from boarding a plane back to the US because the daughter's passport had expired while in Italy. It was oversight on their part but huge mess in getting a new passport issue and rebooking tickets. I think six month requirement/recommendation is a safe value so that you don't get caught in country with an expired passport. I am sure you will be fine BUT I have nothing at risk in making that statement.
Frankly, they barely look at your passport when you arrive in the country. They see that it is a U.S. passport and wave you through. The trouble that you might have is when you check-in for your flight out of the U.S. It depends on how strict the airline is and whether or not you get a b*tch at the ticket counter. You probably won't have a problem with it, but why take the chance.