passport

Where are you traveling? Must countries in Europe have a 90 day rule. Some countries like Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg only require that your passport be valid for the duration of your stay. If in doubt call or email the Embassy/Consulate of the countries you are visiting.

One reason I've heard for the 90-day rule is that if your passport is about to expire, and you have an unexpected illness while there that forces you to stay longer than expected, or for some other reason you extend your stay, your passport might expire while you're there, greatly complicating things.

90 days is the maximum time you can stay in most European countries before you must leave, so the rule makes sure you're OK to stay the maximum allowed by law, if necessary.

Just to emphasize what others have already alluded to above:

The passport validity rule in many/most Schengen countries is that your passport must be valid for 3 months after your expected exit date from Europe.

For example: if you're going for one month, the passport must be valid for 4 months after your departure date from the US, that is, 3 months after your departure from Europe.

However, note that Rick Steves recommends that your passport be valid for 6 months after your date of returning home, I guess to give you a margin of error--or his reason may be that there are a few countries in Europe that actually have a 6 month rule (I don't know).

In most countries it's 3 months after your departure date from Europe.

Hi Martha. I'd renew if your close.

I've seen the law interpreted as "90 day past the end of your trip", and "90 days after the end of your vista stay" (aka 90 days) so 90+90 = 180 = 6 months. A lot of the entrance stuff is "at the discretion of the immigration agent", and I've seen it be inconsistent.

I'd err on the side of caution.

In Australia it's 6 months. I wouldn't risk anything less, if I were you.

Look at the US Customs and Border Protection website: www.cbp.gov

In the bottom banner, there is a "Questions" section. When you open that and query "passport" you will find, among other interesing info, the following:

"As a general rule, passports must be valid for six months beyond the date the traveler will exit the U.S., however, the U.S. has signed agreements with a number of countries to waive this requirement. When such an agreement is in place, the passport must be valid for the entire period of the visitor's intended stay, but the additional six month validity period is not required."

There is a link in that answer to the countries with which an agreement is in place.

Regarding Nancy's reply, after going to "questions" banner, will see at top of next page "Find An Answer, Ask A Question'. CLick that, then type "passport" as your keyword, and toward the bottom of the next page you'll see "6 Month Club" . Hopefully you can open the link cuz I couldn't. So could someone tell me if Spain and London are on the list to go to as long as I leave before my expiration date? Thanks!

Spain and the UK are on the list BUT the list is of countries that have an agreement with the US to allow US citizens waive the 6 month requirement and to allow US citizens to travel up to the time that their passport actually expires ---- so if you are from Germany ??? or are you just visiting there?

why chance it? If you've got less than 6 valid months then just renew it and you won't have to think about it again.

Thanks Martha, I am a US citizen, and I'm not sure I can get it renewed in time. Definitely after these 2 trips!