Does anyone know WHY we have to have 6 monthe left

I have heard about the 6 month rule but know it doesn't always apply which is confusing.

Also we only renew our passports every 10 years so we probably don't pay much attention to the topic when we still have years to go!

Enjoy your holiday,you don't have to worry about passports for another 10 years ...when the rules will have changed!

When i asked the passport office The chap dealing with the renewal said it was to do with 9/11 I didn't ask for details why? However I've since been told this isn't the case but I'm still unsure of the reasons. Can anyone else explain why a passport that is Valid with regard to expiry date is not valid..........Sounds a bit daft if you ask me!

Snooky thank you very much for bringing this to people's attention. Im sure there are loads of people now checking and finding out they need to get their passport changed and youve saved them the same panic you had, so all credit to you for it. Its in the sticky for documents but loads more people will read this as they dont always check the stickies.

Like the rest of you I dont get why you need six months, after all an expiry date should be "set in stone" so to speak........and the 9/11 thing just doesnt make sense to me either, what difference would 6 months on a passport make?

(sorry if Im being cabbage looking)

In theory if your passport expired the day after your return then it would be OK.

The problem is that if anything prevents you from returning on the due date, and it expired before you returned, you could have a problem.

As I understand it all countries require that it should be valid for a period longer than your stay.

You could, again in theory, be refused admission back into your own country and then become stateless.

As I recall when we went into Europe we were told that we did not need a passport to travel between the member countries. This was conditional on having a means of acceptable identification.

What I cannot understand is why anyone should need reminding. But that is another topic.

fwh

Regardless of any individual countries requirements I've always ensured that I renew my passport in good time before it actually expires for the very reason that fwh mentions - I want to be sure that should I have to extend my stay for any reason eg an accident or illness on the part of anyone in my party that the one thing I wouldn't have to worry about is whether the passport will be valid until my eventual return and if for some reason my stay has to be really extended that I've got plenty of time to get it sorted from wherever I am.

Also, given the age of my parents and my mother's health in particular and the fact that they don't see any reason why this should get in the way of them continuing to travel abroad, I can never be sure that I won't need to fly out and join them or to supervise their re-patriation at short notice. So given that you can renew your passport up to 9 months before it expires and that time will be added on to the new passport I always make sure that I renew it between my trips and theirs and at a quiet time for the Passport Office so that it will be turned around quickly. The new procedures mean that the last time I did this it took less than week from applying on-line and receiving the new one. I was actually only without a passport for less than 3 days. Worth it for the peace of mind in my book.

SM

I still think 6 months is rather excessive, just my opinion

hi ..s.m.&.f.w.h. great explanations ..thank you,.my kids/grandkids travel a lot and if for any reason i had to fly abroad to help then the six months rule would ..i.e. would not have to worry about my passport being out of date......regards....john-doe..

fwh............yes of course that makes sense.

months before it expires and that time will be added on to the new passport

That was going to be my next question............at least you dont "lose" the 6 months!

I too always check and make sure Ive got months left because I was aware of the rule, but I think its nice that we have caring people on here who are helping others by telling of their experience.

Happy holidays everyone

I think its nice that we have caring people on here who are helping others by telling of their experience.

Here here Tootsie

There are two quite separate issues here - immigration requirements and travel industry requirements - neither of which are relevant to 9/11 as far as I am aware.

Firstly, immigration requirements. Some of those countries which specify a minimum passport validity period such as 6 months from date of entry, may do so in case you have to unexpectedly overstay your visit, perhaps due to an accident or other medical reasons. They may want to ensure that your passport has sufficient validity to cover your extended stay in their country, and also make sure that you will not be refused entry into any other country when you are able to resume your travels. The last thing they would want is a foreign national to be deported back to their country because they have allowed them to travel from there on an out of date passport. Whilst it may be highly unlikely that the UK would refuse to re-admit citizens under such circumstances, other countries which those travellers are having to transit through may have equally strict passport rules and may deny entry on an expired passport. But these are immigration rules specific to certain countries, over which the Foreign Office, the Passport Agency and the travel industry have no control.

Secondly, the travel industry. Tour operators and airlines can be fined heavily for allowing someone to travel on an expired passport or one which does not meet local immigration validity requirements, and they may also face the inconvenience and expense of having to return such travellers to the UK on the next available flight. It is important therefore that tour operators help ensure that travellers comply with local immigration rules. But as we have said before, some of the travel industry implement these minimum passport validity rules for countries such as Spain, where no such immigration requirement exists. Even although a passport needs to be valid only for the intended duration of stay in the country, perhaps they want to cover themselves in case that stay becomes longer than intended, so that the traveller does not experience any difficulties exiting that country or transiting through any other countries, which the tour operator then becomes liable for.

But there seems to be no consistency within the travel industry on this, some companies are happy to work to the immigration rules of the individual countries concerned, whilst others implement a blanket policy applying to all countries which they fly to. There is sometimes no discretion for airline check-in staff to waive the company's minimum passport validity rule, in cases where the passenger is flying to a country where no such requirement exists. This is what causes the annoyance, confusion and panic amongst travellers.

We did have one recent case where varying international immigration rules could have worked against some of our members, but a standard policy throughout the travel industry would have helped them. Many of our members were due to go to new complex in Greece, but holidays were cancelled at the last minute as the complex did not open on time. As far as immigration/entry requirements for Greece are concerned, those holidaymakers would only have needed passports to be valid for the duration of their intended stay in the country. The tour operator concerned tried to secure alternative holidays for them, although some did cancel and tried to book via other operators. However, because of the high numbers of holidaymakers involved, that search for alternative holidays included looking at other countries such as Turkey, where a minimum 6 month passport validity rule exists as an immigration/entry requirement. And so although all holidaymakers may have satisfied immigration requirements and tour operator requirements for their original booking, they may suddenly have discovered that they did not satisfy immigration requirements or an alternative tour operator's requirements for a replacement holiday. That could severely limit the scope of alternative holiday choices available to them, making a very bad situation become very much worse.

Introduction of a standard policy might help avoid such situations, if travellers to all destinations knew in advance that passports must be valid for at least 6 months beyond their proposed travel dates, irrespective of local immigration laws. But to be effective, it would need the co-operation of the entire travel industry, the Foreign Office and the Passport Agency. But while no such standard policy exists regarding minimum passport validity, travellers will need to continue checking the individual immigration requirements of the countries concerned, and the conflicting rules of the various travel companies which they may consider booking with.

The travel industry may have other valid reasons why some companies choose to implement passport validity rules, while others don't. Perhaps some of our members who are agency or tour operator staff may be able to enlighten us, as I'm sure consistency on this issue would help the travel trade and their customers alike.

David

Just to create a little more confusion on the individual country requirements -

There are 192 countries in total.

fwh

David

In your post you stated that Greece have no immigration/entry requirements, and that you only need a passport to be valid for the duration of your stay. My son is going to Crete in August and as his passport ran out in September he was told by the TO that he would need to renew it as he needed at least six months on his return.

Is there any clarification anywhere which states the countries that adhere to this six month rule. If not would it not be a good idea for the passport office to enlose a list of some kind when you renew your passport which countries require six months and those that don't.

Regards Jackie