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US Passport Expiration rules

Posted by on

I am being over cautious; but at my age, nothing surprises me. This June, I will be taking my daughter to the UK, France, Germany and Austria. She is 19, and her passport (issued when she was 15) will expire on January 2024. For what I see at the state department website, Schengen area countries require 3 months of validity after you leave; for the UK it just needs to be valid.

Everything says she should be fine; but I am bit uncomfortable because it is a passport that was obtained when she was a minor. If anyone had any experience with a similar situation, any input would be appreciated.

Thank you,

PS: If case you are wondering why we don't just renew it; we tried. But she is an adult now, so it is not a renewal that can be done by mail. It has to be in person; we tried for days to find appointments in a 50 mile radius and there is nothing available.

Posted by
2267 posts

The safest is to calculate validity 6 months beyond the planned return to the US. This is the standard most airlines use, and they are strict gatekeepers.

Posted by
8913 posts

I would not renew it at this time. There is an increasing backlog of passport renewals and the risk of not getting it back in time for your trip far surpasses the risk of an issues with a January expiration date.

Posted by
2456 posts

Since it cannot.be done by mail, I assume.this is considered a new passport. Most post offices have availability, I checked our area and found ten post offices for new passports within 20 miles from.home. The problem is the time constraint you are under. Did you check.with your airline as.to.their rules? Of course you are also at the mercy of the ticket agent and the gate agent as to how they interpret the rules.

Posted by
20458 posts

The safest is to calculate validity 6 months beyond the planned return
to the US. This is the standard most airlines use, and they are strict
gatekeepers.

This is the source most airlines use (when they check at all), and you can use it yourself to see the result the airline will get.
https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/

Posted by
83 posts

This will be considered a new passport because she was 15 when the original was issued. I know this because it was the same for our daughter. There was not a "renewal". Because she was 19 at the time of our trip, we had to start at square one.

Posted by
17559 posts

You should be able to do an in-person application at your local post office; you do not need an appointment at a passport office.

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