Six months validity is the general rule of thumb. Make it seven months to be on the safe side and apply for a new passport accordingly.

Returning directly from France. Do the French officials at Eurostar London use TIMATIC? I can understand why airlines use TIMATIC, but not really understand why French officials would.

Six months is the actual rule, not just a rule of thumb. But that's really the question - do French passport officials enforce a bright line rule as written?

What's the difference whether they are airline employees or French border police? They have a document/flowchart/rulebook that specifies who gets in with what documents and under what conditions.

Why bother trying to find out. Surely the most likely answer is 'yes they do' and since you'll soon need a new passport anyway, why even attempt to find out? Even if it's a 10% chance, when you're standing in front of him there's nothing you can do except hope for mercy. Fix the problem at home, beforehand, and you'll not have to worry.

Airline employees (Eurostar in this case) use a privately maintained database as to which there are numerous complaints about inaccuracy. Presumably, border police and other country officials follow the actual rules of their country.

BTW, TITIMAC seems to only mention the rule that a passport be valid for three months from exit. The US state department specifies six months from entry and three months from exit.

The question is what are the actual rules and are they enforced as written.

The US State Dept., in this instance, is merely providing information for US citizens traveling abroad. It has no impact on French officials other than to perhaps explain an error on a travelers part.

I still come back to the fact that if one lives in NYC and is traveling tomorrow, because there is a Passport Agency in NYC, a new/renewal can be obtained later today or tomorrow morning and you can be on an evening flight. While one is supposed to call ahead and there are dire warnings about requirements for passports, if you show up with all of your paperwork, photos and a check, you will be fine (if you truly are flying out tomorrow). While hard copy of the paperwork is required, it can all be completed online and printed. Thus, time at the Passport Office can be minimized.

All of this simply means that this entire thing is a non-issue. It is easily resolved, gives peace of mind and allows OP to vary his schedule if he chooses or the need arises.

I am unable to find the six month requirement anywhere other than the US state department. For example, http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens...s/index_en.htm does not mention six months from entry, only "If you are a non-EU national wishing to visit or travel within the EU, you will need a passport: valid for at least 3 months after the date you intend to leave the EU country you are visiting, which was issued within the previous 10 years". TIMATIC doesn't mention six months http://www.staralliance.com/en/servi...-health/either. Also, #10 at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...de_France.html (although see #11 on the next page).

Is there actually a six month rule for France? If so, please link to an authoritative source that is not the US state dept.

Good advice. My passport is eligible for renewal one year before the expiry date. I'm usually doing the paper work and making the visit right after it enters the final year.

It seems that France requires only three months validity:

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/com...icle/faq-visas

But I'd still get a new passport now, just so it's done.

See post #22 above :-)

The French embassy in NY agrees with us and disagrees with the US state dept. I said the US state dept lists six months and was told "no, you're fine."

By rule of thumb, I meant international travel in general. Not a specific country. One is better off renewing the passport anytime after it has 9-12 months of life left (you'll have to do it soon anyway, so might as well now).

That rule of thumb does not apply to the UK (no minimum) or the EU/Schengen (requires three months after intended exit). I wonder if any country requires more than six months.

It probably is a good idea to renew early, but that's another question.

.. and they even have guns (tiny .22 revolvers from the looks of them), which is somewhat unusual for front-line police on UK soil.

I'm not sure what all of the hand-wringing going on in this thread is about. With regard to both the 6-month-on-entry rule and 3-months-after-intended exit rule, the OP's passport meets those requirements. What exactly is the issue? No border official is going to take their own nation's clear and unambiguous entry requirements and add their own personal additional fudge factor to deny you entry on valid documents.

The opportunity for ambiguity (at least in the traveler's mind) is with corner cases, such as the difference between 6 months and 180 days, or how partial days are counted (for example, some countries count each full or partial calendar day as a "day", such that an arrival into the country at 10pm and departure four hours later at 2am would be considered a "2-day stay" as far as interpretation of Immigration rules). These situations are not ambiguous from the point of view of Immigration officials - there are well-defined rules to cover every situation. But none of this applies to the OP's case, which is clearly within the rules.

Based on your profile, I'll assume that you hold a Canadian passport. Just as a point of reference, there is no minimum renewal time for a US passport. AFAIK, you can renew any time, as long as you're willing to pay the fee. Some people renew years ahead of time, if they run out of visa pages and don't want to have more added (or can't - there is a limit), or if they're about to apply for an expensive or hard-to-get visa from another nation that doesn't transfer between passports and would be valid for longer than the current passport is valid for.

Thank you. I'm somewhat surprised it took 28 posts before someone said this.

Six months from January 1 would be July 1. Counting 180 days takes a touch more effort. The relevant rules appear to be written in terms of months.

I do wonder why the US state dept has an interpretation that's inconsistent with the published EU rule, TIMATIC (or at least the version at http://www.staralliance.com/en/servi...sa-and-health/) and whoever answered the phone at http://www.consulfrance-newyork.org/ when I called this morning.

It may be a good idea to renew early, but, as I've written, that's another question.