slightly different passport expiration question

[PGca]

first, thanks all for your expertise; been lurking for a while and hope to contribute more in the future as I cruise more !

 

QUESTION: UK and Ireland cruise - starts in UK, stops in Ireland, ends in UK

 

- Mom will have about 5 months validity on her passport on her arrival in England and about 4.5 upon her departure from England (flying in and out of London)

- UK and Ireland governments only require valid passport through planned departure (which she will have as we are flying in and out of London)

- At almost 90, thinking her international travel days may be ending (hopefully not!) so would prefer to not get a new passport under rush conditions

 

whose rule regarding 6 month passport validity after planned departure applies - Princess or national government immigration / visit rules (which does not have a 6 month rule) ?  I'm trying to reach CIBT, but I think they are more motivated to get you to use their emergency services than to observe national regulations  We're not in compliance according to Princess' month rule, but since we are starting the cruise in England and she got into the country just fine, does the UK rule apply ??

 

Does anyone have a definitive source of information which i can quote and print for embarkation staff (website, Princess procedures, etc) rather than conjecture ?  I'd rather not have her denied boarding in Southampton over a couple of hundred bucks, but if there is no risk, I'd rather skip the fire drill to get a rush passport done .... thanks all for your knowledge and sharing !!

Edited June 8 by PGca
add for clarification

[DCThunder]

You don't say the nationality of the passport your mother currently holds.  Is it a US passport?  You might want to also check the policy on expiration dates of the airline you're flying to London on.

 

this might help too:  A Complete Guide to the Six-Month Passport-Validity Rule - The Points Guy

Edited June 8 by DCThunder

[PGca]

47 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

You don't say the nationality of the passport your mother currently holds.  Is it a US passport?  You might want to also check the policy on expiration dates of the airline you're flying to London on.

 

this might help too:  A Complete Guide to the Six-Month Passport-Validity Rule - The Points Guy

ooooooops ! sorry - US passport; will edit the question ... thanks !!! and thanks for the points guy link and airline info .. will check them out .....

[PGca]

56 minutes ago, PGca said:

first, thanks all for your expertise; been lurking for a while and hope to contribute more in the future as I cruise more !

 

QUESTION: UK and Ireland cruise - starts in UK, stops in Ireland, ends in UK

 

- Mom holds US passport

- Mom will have about 5 months validity on her passport on her arrival in England and about 4.5 upon her departure from England (flying in and out of London)

- UK and Ireland governments only require valid passport through planned departure (which she will have as we are flying in and out of London)

- At almost 90, thinking her international travel days may be ending (hopefully not!) so would prefer to not get a new passport under rush conditions

 

whose rule regarding 6 month passport validity after planned departure applies - Princess or national government immigration / visit rules (which does not have a 6 month rule) ?  I'm trying to reach CIBT, but I think they are more motivated to get you to use their emergency services than to observe national regulations  We're not in compliance according to Princess' month rule, but since we are starting the cruise in England and she got into the country just fine, does the UK rule apply ??

 

Does anyone have a definitive source of information which i can quote and print for embarkation staff (website, Princess procedures, etc) rather than conjecture ?  I'd rather not have her denied boarding in Southampton over a couple of hundred bucks, but if there is no risk, I'd rather skip the fire drill to get a rush passport done .... thanks all for your knowledge and sharing !!

updated to include mom's passport info

[DCThunder]

6 minutes ago, PGca said:

ooooooops ! sorry - US passport; will edit the question ... thanks !!! and thanks for the points guy link and airline info .. will check them out .....

Glad to help. 

 

FWIW, I'd just get the passport renewed.  Much less angst all around.

[t&atravel]

1 hour ago, PGca said:

first, thanks all for your expertise; been lurking for a while and hope to contribute more in the future as I cruise more !

 

QUESTION: UK and Ireland cruise - starts in UK, stops in Ireland, ends in UK

 

- Mom will have about 5 months validity on her passport on her arrival in England and about 4.5 upon her departure from England (flying in and out of London)

- UK and Ireland governments only require valid passport through planned departure (which she will have as we are flying in and out of London)

- At almost 90, thinking her international travel days may be ending (hopefully not!) so would prefer to not get a new passport under rush conditions

 

whose rule regarding 6 month passport validity after planned departure applies - Princess or national government immigration / visit rules (which does not have a 6 month rule) ?  I'm trying to reach CIBT, but I think they are more motivated to get you to use their emergency services than to observe national regulations  We're not in compliance according to Princess' month rule, but since we are starting the cruise in England and she got into the country just fine, does the UK rule apply ??

 

Does anyone have a definitive source of information which i can quote and print for embarkation staff (website, Princess procedures, etc) rather than conjecture ?  I'd rather not have her denied boarding in Southampton over a couple of hundred bucks, but if there is no risk, I'd rather skip the fire drill to get a rush passport done .... thanks all for your knowledge and sharing !!

Do you have this cruise booked?  If so, your travel summary will have the requirements specific to your cruise.  I have attached the info from my two booked trips (from us, California).  One is to Mexico and the other to the South Pacific and NZ, Aus.  You can see they have different requirements.  Regardless of what the country’s rules are you need to follow what Princess requires in order to board. 
 

 

[Torfamm]

What do the document requirements on your booking or travel summary say? Princess generally requires passports be valid for 6 months after the end of the trip.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, PGca said:

 

whose rule regarding 6 month passport validity after planned departure applies - Princess or national government immigration / visit rules (which does not have a 

 

Does anyone have a definitive source of information which i can quote and print for embarkation staff (website, Princess procedures, etc) rather than conjecture ? 

 

[ChutChut]

I would get it renewed to be on the safe side and prevent any heartache. I would hate to have your mom get to the cruise and be denied because her passport expires before the 6-month rule.

[PGca]

3 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Glad to help. 

 

FWIW, I'd just get the passport renewed.  Much less angst all around.

 

[PGca]

Thanks all for the quick replies.  Here are my takeaways ...

- Princess makes up rules that do not necessarily follow governmental requirements because they can for whatever reason, as long as they are not more lenient than government rules and in general, the 6 month rule + visas are probably the most common strict denominator (although Princess can't demand a visa if the country doesn't issue any !)

- even there is no "departure date + 6 month" rule for UK and Ireland, and England/UK will have already legitimately admitted my mom into the country when we fly in to London and embark the ship, Princess can decide to refuse her entry onto the ship if she doesn't conform to the "departure date + 6 month rule"   

- although the Princess agent said to call CIBT for guidance, I can see that CIBT's interest is in getting money to do passport and visa processing, so they are probably going to quote me the same thing as Princess (departure date + 6 month rule) just to take my money, so not only will I not waste my time with CIBT, nor will I waste my time to find out if this advice was worthwhile in the first place by calling another Princess agent

- My brother had to do an expedited passport renewal last year and it caused a great deal of anxiety, but in the end, the US government did deliver on its 2-3 week commitment (phew !).  Had this not been the case, I would be even less willing to go this route because she would then have NO passport available (🤞they don't lose the passport during processing ! For sure i will take photos before sending it in)

- in the interest of looking at the big picture and not having a vacation ruined over $200 when we're spending way more than that for the holiday, I'll have mom go to the post office tomorrow to start the process for this reason and the reason above

 

Sometimes it's not worth fighting for what's right ! but better to look at the big picture.  I hope this information is helpful to others.  Thank you all for taking the time to give me your perspectives and guide me toward the right decision for us in this case.  I appreciate your help.

 

[memoak]

If it was me I would renew. I am 74 as of next week and plan on traveling at least another 20 years if not longer

[cr8tiv1]

Good decision to renew her passport.  From my understanding, the Post Office is not involved in the renewal process.  You will need to get photos (from CVS, Walgreens, AAA, etc), fill out the paper work, submit passport.

 

The Post Office did recommend sending it using one of their one rate envelopes.  You will have the ability to track it (included service).  That's all the Post Office does...to send it to the Passport Office.

[shellbeachjim]

1 minute ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Good decision to renew her passport.  From my understanding, the Post Office is not involved in the renewal process.  You will need to get photos (from CVS, Walgreens, AAA, etc), fill out the paper work, submit passport.

 

The Post Office did recommend sending it using one of their one rate envelopes.  You will have the ability to track it (included service).  That's all the Post Office does...to send it to the Passport Office.

Actually, our local Post Office offers passport photos. I used to get them at Costco, but they got out of the photo business.

[cr8tiv1]

42 minutes ago, shellbeachjim said:

Actually, our local Post Office offers passport photos. I used to get them at Costco, but they got out of the photo business.

 

Lucky that you needn't chase all over the place for a photo.  None of my local offices take photos.  We do have one location that will accept applications for first time passports.  

[PGca]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

If it was me I would renew. I am 74 as of next week and plan on traveling at least another 20 years if not longer

well mom's at 88, I wish she has at least another 10 and she outlives her new passport !! 😎

[DCThunder]

10 hours ago, PGca said:

well mom's at 88, I wish she has at least another 10 and she outlives her new passport !! 😎

She (or you) can do most of the paperwork on line.  Renew an adult passport | USAGov

[roxievegas]

 when my father died, my mother was 78 and she made California her permanent home residence.  When she was 85 she gave up her car and moving forward we had her get a California resident card, did not renew her drivers license.  I continued to renew her passport, because it was a recognized form of legal I.D. and later on I took over all of her financial, medical and etc, etc, decisions.  I was able to use her passport for I.D., it was very helpful.

[PGca]

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

She (or you) can do most of the paperwork on line.  Renew an adult passport | USAGov

thanks - just checked and it's temporarily suspended ?

like all things with the government, just when it makes sense, someone bad comes along and ruins it for the rest of us !!!! 😏😉

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, PGca said:

thanks - just checked and it's temporarily suspended ?

like all things with the government, just when it makes sense, someone bad comes along and ruins it for the rest of us !!!! 😏😉

I'm not seeing it's been suspended.  You can fill out the form online (as long as the passport is current, or within 15 years of being issued) and print it out to be mailed in along with passport photo and fee, plus current passport.  No need to visit a passport facility.

Edited June 9 by Shmoo here

[westcoaster]

I've gone on cruises with less than 6 months validity on my passport a couple of times, with no problems.  Princess seems to put the 6 months validity language on the requirements list for all cruises, even though most countries don't require that. 

 

I'm not recommending that people take the chance and travel with less than 6 months validity, because I guess you never know when someone might decide to enforce it and ruin your vacation (I have a second passport that I can use as a fallback in that case).  I'm just pointing out that my experience has been that Princess doesn't enforce this rule.

[DCThunder]

16 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

I'm not seeing it's been suspended.  You can fill out the form online (as long as the passport is current, or within 15 years of being issued) and print it out to be mailed in along with passport photo and fee, plus current passport.  No need to visit a passport facility.

Exactly.  I did that last December and had my renewed passport 3 weeks later.  I did pay for expedited service, but probably didn't need to.  Pro tip, take the application into the post office and have them hand stamp it.  Also use Priority Mail.

[PGca]

5 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Exactly.  I did that last December and had my renewed passport 3 weeks later.  I did pay for expedited service, but probably didn't need to.  Pro tip, take the application into the post office and have them hand stamp it.  Also use Priority Mail.

must be a different website than listed above https://www.usa.gov/renew-adult-passport 1st screenshot below

then i go to https://pptform.state.gov/passportwizardmain.aspx

2nd screenshot - "which says fill out online and then print"

second page says:

- This form filler tool is not an online passport application.

- Instead, the form filler allows you to electronically enter your data and print a paper form with a barcode unique to the data entered. Once you electronically complete your answers and print the form, you will then submit the form by mail, or in person, depending on the form type. (DS-82 and DS-5504 forms by mail; DS-11 form in person)

 

what am i missing ?  thank y'all !

[Shmoo here]

35 minutes ago, PGca said:

must be a different website than listed above https://www.usa.gov/renew-adult-passport 1st screenshot below

then i go to https://pptform.state.gov/passportwizardmain.aspx

2nd screenshot - "which says fill out online and then print"

second page says:

- This form filler tool is not an online passport application.

- Instead, the form filler allows you to electronically enter your data and print a paper form with a barcode unique to the data entered. Once you electronically complete your answers and print the form, you will then submit the form by mail, or in person, depending on the form type. (DS-82 and DS-5504 forms by mail; DS-11 form in person)

 

what am i missing ?  thank y'all !

OK, I see the "Online renewals are currently paused." on the first site (sorry, missed that the first time). As far as I can recall, there's not been an actual online renewal process.  I could be wrong in this.  But the form can be filled out online, and printed out to be mailed in.  

 

I found this info online (lol)

On March 8, 2023, we paused our limited release of the online renewal service, so that we can introduce improvements based on customer feedback. During our limited release, over 500,000 customers volunteered to submit their applications online and test our system.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew-online.html#:~:text=On March 8%2C 2023%2C we,online and test our system.

 

 

So, there was a brief time when online renewals were available (don't know how long), but the pause has been for over a year now.

[SCX22]

The 100% online passport renewal process has been suspended.  Who knows when this service will be reinstated?

 

Right now, passport renewals have to be done by mail if you meet the criteria.  You fill out the form, print it, attach a photo, enclose payment, and mail everything.  State Department prefers that the form be completed online and printed because this process generates at barcode in the margin of the form that can be scanned at the Passport Agency that will auto populate the fields.  If filled in by hand, a worker has to manually type in your info.

 

Also note, there are lots of website that pop up when looking to renew your US Passport.  The only way to renew your passport directly with the State Department is by going through:

travel.state.gov

[ldubs]

I think I would be guided by whatever it is Princess says.  They are who you will be dealing with at the embark terminal.  Bringing proof their stated policy is incorrect may not get you anywhere.  Renewing the passport is relatively painless.  All Mom really needs to do is sit for a photo and sign the form. You can do the rest.   

 

Enjoy!