Some countries require your passport to be valid for 6 months following entry. Does anyone know if this is required (for a USA passport)of the U.K and France?

The U.K. and French web sites didn't say and the US site refers you to the specific countries web site.

Thanks,

DR

U.S.A. requires my (swiss) passport to be valid for another six months, so I am pretty sure that this is the case the other-way-round too for US-citicens entering a (western) Europe country. The french in the first place, I am pretty sure, would never tolerate being 'treated harsher' elsewhere - they will always use the same rules 'vice versa' you can bet on that!

This requirement is most often for visas. You do not need visas for these countries so the answer is no.

Switzerland will give you a passport if you bring enough money with you. lol.

The last time I was in France, arriving at CDG from JFK, they didn't even look inside my passport. They just asked me to wave it at them (US passport).

Technically, I believe the six months requirement applies to almost all countries. However, a lot of countries, as usoftie mentioned, don't even check your passport, let along enforcing it!

Personally, I feel more comfortable if my passport is valid for at least one year or more. Who knows, I may need to go on serveral trips without enough break to renew it.

While customs may not bother looking too closely at your passport, that does you no good if you can't get there in the first place...and I've seen people turned away at checkin because their passport was expiring too soon. I believe it's because if the country denies you entry, then the airline has to fly you back home...and during a busy season, that may mean putting you on a flight that's already oversold.

drtravels:

Last year I ran into this very situation when planning a trip to England and France. I was required to renew my passport, which would have expired within 30 days after my return travel, because the U.K. (or was it France? can't recall) required it to be valid for six months beyond the travel dates. I had to scramble to get it done but, fortunately, we have a Passport Agency here in Chicago and I was able to get it same day.

Here is a link to some valuable info; hope it helps you:
http://www.travel.state.gov/foreignentryreqs.html

[This message has been edited by bbinchi (edited 10-20-2000).]

Passport expires 12/00. Went to France in October. No problem. And yes, they looked at the passport.

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. I'll renew it early just to be safe otherwise I might have an unhappy 9 year old who is looking forward to her first trip to London and Paris.

DR

The British Foreign & Commenwealth Office website can be found at http://www.fco.gov.uk

http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel/dynpage.asp?Page=336
All overseas nationals who wish to enter the UK must satisfy the Immigration Officer at the port of arrival that they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

The Home Office through its Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) is responsible for immigration policy and the UK's on-entry and after entry controls.

The new Joint Entry Clearance Unit (JECU) runs the UK's pre-entry control through the entry clearance operation at Embassies and High Commissions overseas.

On 2 October 2000 the British Government introduced a new type of visa designed to help visitors enter the UK more easily. An FCO press release provides more information.

The guidance leaflets explaining the rules and procedures for applicants (and sponsors) are listed at http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel/download.asp

A site I've found useful for US citizens traveling to other countries is http://travelfinder.com/visareqs.html . Despite the URL, it's not just about visas.