You already know that when you travel to any foreign country (Canada and Mexico included), you need to have a valid passport to enter the region and to get back into the United States. However, what many people don’t know is that several countries enforce a passport six month rule known formerly as the Six Months Validity Rule. If a country uses the six month rule, your passport’s expiration date must be at least six months from the day that you plan to enter the country.
In other words, if you are planning to fly into Ecuador on June 1st, your passport can’t expire before December 1st, even if you plan to leave the country well before the month ends. Different countries have different reasons for enforcing the six month rule, but the primary reason is most likely that it helps prevent travelers from entering a country with a soon-to-expire passport, then running into trouble when their trip is extended or runs longer than planned.
Countries Enforcing Six Month Validity Rule*
If you have a US passport and you’re curious if the country you plan to travel to follows the six month rule, here is a complete list of countries that enforce this particular regulation:
| Albania | Mauritius |
| Angola | Mexico |
| Bahamas | Mozambique |
| Bahrain | Namibia |
| Belize | New Caledonia |
| Bolivia | Nicaragua |
| Botswana | Oman |
| Brazil | Palau |
| Brunei | Papua New Guinea |
| Burma (Myanmar) | Philippines |
| Burundi | Saudi Arabia |
| China | Singapore |
| Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | St. Lucia |
| Ecuador, including the Galápagos Islands | Taiwan |
| French Polynesia | Tajikistan |
| Guyana | Tanzania |
| Honduras | Thailand |
| Indonesia | Timor-Leste (East Timor) |
| Iran | Trinidad & Tobago |
| Iraq | Turkmenistan |
| Jamaica | Uganda |
| Kenya | Ukraine |
| Kiribati | Venezuela |
| Laos | Vietnam |
| Madagascar | Zambia |
| Malaysia |
*This list is current as of January 2, 2014. Please check Department of State Website for most up to date information
It’s also important to note that many European countries require your passport to be valid for at least three months after entering the country. The United Kingdom is not on this list, which has changed somewhat in recent months. Should you have questions about upcoming international travel using your passport or a specific country’s regulations, give SPS a call today at (877) 917-9438 so we can address your concerns. Keep in mind that some of these countries also require you to obtain a travel visa as well as a passport before entering the country. If your passport is going to expire within six months of traveling to any of the aforementioned countries, don’t take any chances. Instead, contact the Swift Team so we can help you renew your passport well in advance of your trip.
