Passport expiration requirements
 

France requires: "PASSPORT VALIDITY:
Must be valid for a minimum of six months at entry, and valid for an additional three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area. Please note that “emergency passports” issued by U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas may not be accepted for entry into France. " http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...ry/france.html

We intend to to arrive in France five days before the six month point and leave one day before. Is this likely to cause a problem? (US passport)

We will be arriving from the UK by the Eurostar train (after having flown from the US and stayed a few days). The UK only requires "PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid for duration of your stay" http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...d-kingdom.html

Will we even encounter passport control entering France? I'd think not, given UK and France are both Schengen countries, which may moot the issue? I see that Eurostar wants to see a passport http://www.eurostar.com/us-en/travel...-trip/check-in, but do they check more than identity?

1. As a starting point, the UK is not in Schengen.

2. Your passport does not meet the requirement for France as it is not valid for three months after the date of departure. You will most likely be denied entry to France. Possible to make it in? Sure. Just far from likely.

Just get your passport renewed. If your travel is soon, pay the expedite fees. If it is really soon, you list your residence as NYC and can obtain a new passport at the NY Passport Agency if your travel is imminent, e.g. the next few days. Just be prepared to pay the fees and blow a day hanging around.

The passport will be valid for six months and five days from arrival and six months and one day from departure. That's more than three months from departure.

Good point on UK, so we will have to go through passport control on entry to France.

It is not clear to me. How many days are you going to be in France?

Four days. Sorry for the confusion.

Passport expiration requirements
 

I'm sorry but I have to chuckle that this has turned into a math problem. The OP gave their arrival and departure relative to the six month expiration of their passport

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"Good point on UK, so we will have to go through passport control on entry to France."

Sort of. You will be "admitted" to France at the Eurostar St. Pancras Terminal in London. (Kind of like US pre-clearance at several Canadian airports.)

Based on bitter personal experience at airports the system may not allow you to enter France if you don't have the correct validity.

My wife (US citizen) was denied boarding for Iceland from UK on pretty much the same basis as you describe. The Passenger Information pre-flight requirement noted a short passport validity and would not permit the gate agent to issue a boarding card. Cue gnashing of teeth etc.

I endorse earlier comments - not worth the hassle. Get a new passport

We will have the correct validity, but only by a few days. If they enforce the regulations as reported by the US State Dept, it wouldn't seem a problem.

Rule is six months entry on entry, we'll have six months and a few days (three months requirement on exit will be met easily). Concern is an over-zealous officer will not accept that.

Caution may well be the best course, but I'm curious about the practice.

Will this be by a French official or a Eurostar employee?

The wording "...an additional three months beyond..." is at best misleading/confusing, and at worst incorrect. To me this reads at least six months at entry, at least nine months at exit, which is illogical and not the intended wording.

And I read it such that if you only have 6 months at entry, you must depart within 90 days of entry.

In any event, it is a silly risk to take as, if your plans change for good or bad reasons, e.g. sickness or injury, you are stuck with a visit to the US Consulate to obtain an emergency document (not that you need it for entry to the US, but more than likely, to board an aircraft).

They are French officials. At St. Pancras, you scan your ticket at the gate into the international area, go through security, then have your passport stamped.

I went through in May and the luggage xray broke down with my suitcase in it :-(

if OP's schedule permits, renewing the passport before departure from the US certainly seems to be the way to reduce the risk of disruption by French passport control to almost zero

Is the OP returning directly to the USA from France? Is there a confirmed plane reservation and ticket receipt to document the planned departure date?

Sin months and one day should be fine, but I would carry a TIMATIC printout.