Passport Question

[gr8aunt]

My niece who was on her way to Honduras (with 9 others) to bring medical supplies, etc. (she is a doctor) and was turned away at the airport because her passport expires in a month. She was not aware of the 3 month expiration rule and the travel agent never said anything. I know whenever I cruised it was in the documentation that your passport must be valid for 6 months after the return date. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why this is the case? I told her I thought it might have something to do with the length of time you could stay in any given country on a visa, but I really never thought of it before.

[MMDown Under]

My niece who was on her way to Honduras (with 9 others) to bring medical supplies, etc. (she is a doctor) and was turned away at the airport because her passport expires in a month. She was not aware of the 3 month expiration rule and the travel agent never said anything. I know whenever I cruised it was in the documentation that your passport must be valid for 6 months after the return date. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why this is the case? I told her I thought it might have something to do with the length of time you could stay in any given country on a visa, but I really never thought of it before.

 

COUNTRIES WITH AGREEMENTS WITH THE UNITED STATES TO EXTEND PASSPORT VALIDITY FOR AN ADDITIONAL SIX MONTHS

 

If you are a passport holder from anyone of the following countries, the requirement that your passport be valid for six months beyond your date of departure from the U.S. is waived.

Your passport must be valid on entry into the U.S. If the passport is not valid for the duration of your stay, you will be required to apply for a new passport from your Embassy while in the U.S. If your visit will be of short duration during which time your passport will expire, we recommend that you obtain a new passport before traveling as you will be admitted only until the date on which the passport expires. Such action before you depart for the U.S. will save you the inconvenience of applying not only for a new passport, but also an extension of stay.

 

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/sixmonth.html

 

The country sets how long your passport must be valid beyond your planned date of departure from that country.

 

As you can see from the above, the US has waived this requirement for listed countries, as have some other countries.

 

Whilst I don't know the reason for the 6 months, I thought it may have been to allow extra time in case you got sick in the country and weren't unable to leave, as scheduled. ??

[cherylandtk]

The passport validity time requirement is set by the destination country. The longest date is 6 months, so that is what many travel companies (airlines, cruises, etc) default to. Honduras, according to the State Dept. website, requires 6 months, not three:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1135.html#entry_requirements

[FlaParrotHead]

I have the same question -- The carnival web site still says that a passport is not required for a closed-loop cruise, we are planning to do and eastern caribbean run in March/April. My SOs passport expires 2weeks after we return (she also has her birth certificate). Do we need to worry and rush a new passport for her or should we be OK.

 

Thanks, B and B

[gr8aunt]

I don't believe in taking chances so I would definitely renew the passport NOW.

[Jancruz]

I don't believe in taking chances so I would definitely renew the passport NOW.

 

I second the motion!!

Jancruz1