My mom and I are looking at doing the RS Best of Germany, Austria, & Switzerland tour this year that goes from Oct 7-Oct 20. We would probably stay after the tour ends and go visit her friends in Hamburg for a few days. Her passport expires in January of 2015. I read somewhere that passports need to be valid for certain number of months and was wondering if she would be ok or if she should get hers renewed before we go? I don't recall where I read it and wasn't sure if it only applied to certain countries? Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Canada
3 posts
I am not sure about actual "law" but the general rule of thumb that I have been taught is that your passport should be valid for 6 months beyond your expected return date.
Posted by
troy, ny
656 posts
I think that it should be valid for 6 months after travel dates but I could be wrong. If she plans on continuing to travel why not just renew it in advance?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19086 posts
"Check the expiration date on your passport carefully before traveling to Europe. Entry into any of the 26 European countries in the Schengen area for short-term tourism, a business trip, or in transit to a non-Schengen destination, requires that your passport be valid for at least three months beyond your intended date of departure. If your passport does not meet the Schengen requirements, you may be refused boarding by the airline at your point of origin or while transferring planes. You could also be denied entry when you arrive in the Schengen area. For this reason, we recommend that your passport have at least six months’validity remaining whenever you travel abroad."
Note, they recommend six month remaining whenever you travel abroad, but say Schengen requires only 3 month beyond your intended departure. Three month beyond Oct 20, the end of the tour, would be Jan 20, so you probably will not meet the requirement even without staying longer.
Seems to me it should be 3 month beyond your arrival, since from any date of arrival, you can only stay a maximum of 90 days continuously in Schengen. The days between arrival and intended departure go against the 90 continuous days allowed in Schengen.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7025 posts
Just renew it now. She'll have it before you leave in Oct and then no more worries or concerns. Why wait?
Posted by
OP
Michigan
16 posts
OK I think I will just have her renew it before we go, she was worried about not getting it in time, but I think it will get here in plenty of time, especially if she pays extra to have it expedited. Mine only took a month when I renewed in July. Thanks for the help everyone =)
Posted by
Seattle
27 posts
In terms of timeframes, I didn't renew, but had a new passport from intake to my door was 4 weeks on the dot. That was early May
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Thanks, all.
Posted by
Green Bay
19959 posts
I renewed mine 2 months ago and it took 3 weeks without any special expediting.