Passport expiration
#1
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Passport expiration
I know I am being paranoid. But I have never cut things this close before.
I will be traveling internationally this year. My return is 6 months and 6 days before the expiration on my passport.
I know the rules are usually you have to have an open visa page and the passport must be valid for 6 months.
Has anyone ever run into an issue when their passport is close to expiring (but still valid)?
I will be traveling internationally this year. My return is 6 months and 6 days before the expiration on my passport.
I know the rules are usually you have to have an open visa page and the passport must be valid for 6 months.
Has anyone ever run into an issue when their passport is close to expiring (but still valid)?
#3
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The six month rule does not apply to re-entry to the US. It applies to entry to various countries which require it. Hence, it is 6 months from the date that you arrive in one of those countries, not when you leave it.
#4
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If by return you mean as a US citizen you return to the US, your passport does not have to have six months left on it, you can come back on the day before expiration day if you want.
No worries at all for six months and six days.
No worries at all for six months and six days.
#5
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Dave
#6
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I was just worried about an over-zealous immigration official on entry to Thailand. I am sure that abuse of authority is not limited to our TSA and could occur elsewhere.
But in face of the overwhelming response here, I will put it out of my mind.
Thanks to all.
#7
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US citizens do not need a passport to re-enter the country. However, to get on your plane in Thailand, you would want to have a valid passport, to avoid any hassles. So, make sure you have at least one day of validity when you show up for your flight home.
As far as six months, the rules are different for different countries. Many don't care, as long as it's valid. Others require certain lengths of validity to be left when you enter.
As far as six months, the rules are different for different countries. Many don't care, as long as it's valid. Others require certain lengths of validity to be left when you enter.
#8
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Even for those countries which have a three or six month validity requirement in some form or another, it rarely applies to all persons with a passport with less than that amount of time remaining on the passport. But six months remaining validity and two or three sets of blank visa pages is an extraordinarily safe way to play it.
Is the OP's travel that of travel on an ordinary US passport?
Yes. But the issue in advance of that will be that the airline may not allow such a person to board a flight to the US. Also, DHS/CBP may make a bit of an issue about it on arrival at a US port of entry.
US citizens at a US port of entry should not be turned away from the US by DHS. However, in some rare instances -- due to misunderstanding, incompetence and/or malice -- DHS has turned away US citizens in the US, at a US port of entry and/or on the way to a US port of entry.
Is the OP's travel that of travel on an ordinary US passport?
US citizens at a US port of entry should not be turned away from the US by DHS. However, in some rare instances -- due to misunderstanding, incompetence and/or malice -- DHS has turned away US citizens in the US, at a US port of entry and/or on the way to a US port of entry.
#10
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For purposes of reentering the U.S., it is proof of identity and citizenship. Neither of those things should expire.
That said, just like TSA thinks an expired driver's license means you no longer are the person depicted on the license, it would not surprise me to learn that CBP takes a similar view with respect to expired passports. Indeed, a previously issued passport is not sufficient to prove entitlement to a new passport if you are a minor--you need a birth certificate each time.
#11
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But for renewal of an adult passport, you can not only use a previously-issued passport, you can use a passport that's recently expired (and, as I discovered, a passport that was not only expired but had been superseded by another renewal).
#12
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Hence, when she went to the Consulate in Haifa with a passport which had expired a month or so earlier, and asked for both a new passport and a Social Security number, she was told she could only get a new passport -- but as soon as it arrived she could present it to get the Social Security number.
#13
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Hence, when she went to the Consulate in Haifa with a passport which had expired a month or so earlier, and asked for both a new passport and a Social Security number, she was told she could only get a new passport -- but as soon as it arrived she could present it to get the Social Security number.
A bit far fetched, but it seems logical.
#14
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At first I agreed with your , but then I realized that there is a possible explanation; the issuance of a passport verified your daughter's identity. Had the passport application been rejected (by the DoS in the US), then she would not be able to get the SS number.
A bit far fetched, but it seems logical.
A bit far fetched, but it seems logical.
Her passport may have expired but not her identity.
#15
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At first I agreed with your , but then I realized that there is a possible explanation; the issuance of a passport verified your daughter's identity. Had the passport application been rejected (by the DoS in the US), then she would not be able to get the SS number.
A bit far fetched, but it seems logical.
A bit far fetched, but it seems logical.
[While it may be absurd that an expired US passport is not always ordinarily accepted as evidence of identity, it's no more bizarre than some European governments accepting valid foreign (e.g., US) passports for entry and for proof of identity in some cases but then refusing to accept the valid US passports as proof of identity for other purposes. For example, the Swedish government rather routinely refuses to accept non-EU/EEA passports as evidence of identity of the foreign citizen parent(s) named on Swedish birth certificates but they will accept the non-EU/EEA passports as evidence of identity for other purposes. [To see an example of this nonsense courtesy of governmental bureaucracy, check out the Stockholm police station where Swedish passports applications are accepted in person. Then try to see how minor Swedish citizens with foreign parent(s) may involve the parent(s) asking some person -- random or otherwise -- to sign a document attesting to the identity of the foreign parent(s).]
Last edited by GUWonder; Feb 4, 2012 at 1:19 pm