It turns out that passport expiration dates aren’t what they seem. Certain countries will deny access if your passport expires within three — or even six months.
The short story is: Don’t risk traveling with a passport that will expire within six months.
Smart gate agents will turn you away at your departure airport. Manage to get on the plane and it’s likely you’ll be denied entry at your destination if you arrive in a country that has a three or six month validity requirement in place.
Here are countries that require passports to be within six months of expiration:
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Ecuador
- India
- Indonesia
- Israel
- Malaysia
- Paraguay
- Romania
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- UAE
- United States (depending on your country or origin)
Here are countries that require passports to be within three months of expiration:
- Cambodia
- Denmark
- Greeenland
- Croatia
- Estonia
- Denmark
- Fiji
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- Switzerland
Exceptions:
North America: US citizens don’t need a passport to enter Canada or Mexico.
European Union passport holders aren’t subject to the three or six-month rules while visiting other EU countries.
Where to Learn More:
US citizens can start at the US Department of State Country Specific Information page. Most often you will get the best information visiting the embassy website of the destination country.
Michael is an entrepreneur, world traveler, and tech geek.