These Countries Will Not Allow You to Visit If Your Passport Expires in the Next Six Months

This summer promises to be provocative for travel. Nearly 85% of Americans are planning to travel this summer, according to The Vacationer , and summer travel spending is expected to increase due to inflation, lack of seats due to pandemic layoffs, shortages of pilots and airport staff, and decommissioned aircraft. . You want to ruin your summer plans, it’s a formality in your passport.

What is the minimum six-month validity of a passport?

Many countries won’t let visitors in if their passports expire within six months—a fact you may not know until you’ve bought plane tickets, booked accommodation, and, in the worst case scenario, met face-to-face with an immigration officer. service that refuses to stamp the passport.

Some countries mark a deadline from the day you enter, while others are more strict and require you to have at least six months by the time you must leave the country. This list only takes into account the validity of the passport, not visa requirements. You will need to study the passport rules and regulations of a particular country to see which rules they follow.

Here are the countries that won’t let you in if you don’t have at least six months left before your passport expires:

Europe

Austria*, Belgium*, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic*, Denmark*, Estonia*, Finland*, France*, Germany*, Greece*, Hungary*, Iceland*, Italy*, Latvia*, Liechtenstein*, Lithuania* , Luxembourg*, Malta*, Netherlands*, Norway*, Poland*, Portugal*, Russia, Slovakia*, Slovenia*, Spain*, Sweden*, Switzerland* and Turkey.

*Some Schengen countries only require visitors’ passports to be valid for three months after their intended stay (so technically you can visit if you have at least three months left in your passport). Others assume that you will stay all three months on the visa, no matter how long you actually stay, and require an additional three months (six in total). Be sure to check the country’s rules and regulations.

Non-Schengen Europe, Asia and the Middle East

Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia , Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, East Timor, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen.

Africa

Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

North America and the Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Barts, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

Central and South America

Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname and Venezuela.

South Pacific

French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

This is not a complete list of all countries for which visits must remain in the passport for at least six months, only the most popular places. Be sure to do your own research before booking anything.