The Countries You Can Visit With Less Than 6 Months On Your Passport
The general rule when traveling internationally is that you need at least 6 months of validity on your passport to be allowed to enter a country. Of those, some nations allow you to have 6 months left on it from the day you enter. But others require you to have 6 months from the day you depart. It just depends on the country.
However, there are some countries and territories that allow you to have less than 6 months left on your passport and still visit them:
Passport must be valid for at least three months from the date of arrival. One page must be blank for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry and departure. However if your flight(s) have a stopover in any of the Schengen countries, your passport will then need to be valid for at least 3 months past your departure date.
Passport must be valid at time of entry and for duration of stay. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. One page required for entry stamp.
Your passport must be valid at time of entry. Two pages are required for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid for at least three months from the date of arrival. Two blank pages when presented to Belarusian immigration authorities.
Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Belize and must have one page blank per stamp.
Passport must be valid for three months after the planned date of departure. One page is required for an entry stamp.
Your passport must be valid on the date of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. If you’re transiting Canada en route to Europe, your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area. Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid at time of entry and exit. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Costa Rica and must have at least one page.
Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Ireland and must have at least one page.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.
Passport must have three months validity. Must have one blank page per stamp.
Passport must be valid for one month beyond the date of your intended stay. Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Ireland and must have at least one page.
No minimum requirement, but your authorized stay must not exceed the validity remaining on your passport.
Also note that airlines may decline boarding if a traveler has fewer than six months of validity on his or her passport.
One page required for entry stamp (although passports are normally not stamped upon entry into Israel).
Passport must be valid at time of entry and exit. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid for the duration of intended period of stay. Please note you cannot travel on a passport you have previously declared as lost or stolen, even if you subsequently locate it. One page is required for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid for 3 months. Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid for ninety days following entry, with no Israeli stamps or visas. One page required for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid for 3 months beyond date of arrival. Must have one blank page per stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. One blank page requested for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid for one month beyond the date of your intended stay. Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.
Passport must be valid for 3 months. Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.
Passport must be valid for 3 months beyond date of departure. Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Nicaragua and must have one blank page per stamp.
Passport must be valid for 3 months. Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Saint Lucia and must have at least one page.
Officially, you’re only supposed to need 3 months to enter the 29 Schengen Countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland). However, the rules for each country vary in terms of passport requirements.
These are the Schengen Region countries that allow a passport with less than 6 months left (but keep in mind that if you’re traveling through one of the countries that require 6 months – i.e. a stopover in Austria [which requires 6 months beyond your planned departure date] to get to Belgium [which only requires 3 months], you’ll still need 6 months on your passport):
Passport must be valid for duration of stay and one blank page required.
Passport must be valid for duration of stay and one blank page required.
Passport must be valid for 30 days beyond your intended date of exit from South Africa. Must have 2 consecutive empty visa pages per entry (not including endorsement pages).
Passport must be valid at time of entry. One blank page per stamp.
Passport must be valid for duration of stay and one blank page required.
The passport must have 3 months of validity upon entry. Two pages are required for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid at time of entry and exit. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in the United Kingdom (At least six months remaining validity is required for onward travel to many other countries). Must have one blank page.
Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.
Obviously, there’s a lot more to international travel than just having a passport that’s still valid for X amount of time. For example, some countries require visas or visa waivers (the Schengen Region countries will require a visa waiver from U.S. residents relatively soon, although its launch has been delayed [*cough* several times. But not as many times as Real ID has been delayed *cough*]), sometimes based on the length of your stay, sometimes just to enter the country.
You can check the State Department’s website for specifics.
But if you have less than 6 months left on your passport and want to go SOMEWHERE before you send it to the State Department for renewal (and let it languish for weeks to months), at least you know where you may be able to go.
Feature Photo: pxfuel
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary