silly question, pastports

Does he have a US or UK passport?

I know for US passports you need it to expire at least 6 months after you plan to return or you need a new one.

To clarify a little bit about what Deanna said. The US passport does NOT required a six month margin for returning to the US. It is good till the day it expires. Some countries MAY require a three month or six month expiration date AFTER you arrive in country. That is so you do not get trapped in that country with an expired passport and cannot leave. I have no idea what the US authorities would do if you showed up with an expired US passport for reentry. I am guess they would make your life pretty miserable. But it is never wise to let your passport get that close to expiration. The British folks may be more casual that the US folks. Good luck.

PS -- It is not a silly question. It is a critical question that needs a good answer.

I think Sue's question applies to a U.K. passport.

As for a U.S. passport, the official website of the U.S. Passport service has this statement under FAQs,

If possible, you should renew your passport approximately nine (9) months before it expires. Some countries require that your passport be valid at least six (6) months beyond the date of your trip. Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met.

I once called Immigration and asked them what would happen if someones passport expired while they were out of the country. The person told me that no U.S. citizen is going to be kept out of his own country just because he doesn't have a valid passport. However, I suspect you would have to do some work to prove you were actually a U.S. Citizen. An expired passport should prove that. You have five years after your passport expires to renew it using just the old one, so I suspject they might just make you renew it at the time of entry, and then allow you in. However, they could make you pay $25 for "in person application", $60 for expidited service, and maybe $14.85 for overnight delivery, on top of the $75 renewal fee.

If:
You have an undamaged passport to submit with your application,
It was issued after you turned 16,
It was issued in the last 15 years, and
It is either in your current name, or you can document the name change,

Then you can renew you passport by mail.

If you use the form on that website, it will cost you $75. Caution, there are a lot of website claiming to be official passport websites, but if they do not end in .gov, they are not. They will charge you an extra fee ($25) to renew the passport. If you use the official website travel.state.gov, the fee is $75.

Lee, you have more faith in our government bureaucrats than I do. I have always found it harder to get back into the US than entering any other country -- of course -- haven't tried a few like Russia or China. But I bet the really big hang up would occur with the airlines. I will bet that you could not get on a plane with an expired passport. It is my understanding that if an airline brings you and you cannot gain entry, they are responsible for returning you to your starting point.

I am sure that Sue is referring to a UK passport and who knows what the Brit would do.

Yes, definitely a problem for using a US passport. Can't say for sure how the UK treats it.

Lee was spot on. They will not deny entry, as long as citizenship can be confirmed, but you could literally wind up being detained for days, while your citizenship and identity is confirmed. (I know some peeps this happened to - was pretty horrible. She lost her and her sons passports on the plane.)

HOWEVER, (yes, big caps however time)airlines that allow a passenger to board a plane to the US from a foreign country, without the proper documentation are subject to a potential $10,000 fine per traveler. (could be higher now, that's a few years old number). So, the airline would have every right to refuse boarding, and the option at that point would be a trip to the embassy.

I'd hit the passport office.

I guess we are talking about US passport. UK citizens don't need passport to go to Amsterdam.

UK citizens don't need passport to go to Amsterdam.

Yes we do.

(Unless they have an EU ID card from another EU country.)

Oops. I know that for example citizens of the Czech Republic don't need passport when they go to another European Union country. It seems that I wrongly assumed that citizens of the UK have the same right.

The UKers, are a different lot, this may be their punishment for not going metric or on the euro,,LOL

What is a "pastport" (see the title for this post)? Is that what you call an expired passport.

Regarding UK citizens and passports, while for the most part border controls of European countries are not exercised, The UK is a notable exception, they enforce border controls, and many European Countries reciprocate, so an ID is needed, either a passport or EU ID card. Border controls in the Baden Baden area are also currently being enforced due to the G20 meeting, and in general each country still retains the right to enforce border controls as it sees fit.

There is always confusion here between the EU right of movement and the Schengen border agreement. This is understandable as there is a massive overlap and, to be honest, why should Americans know?

EU citizens have freedom of movement throughout the EU on production of a passport or valid national ID card. Some countries don't issue a national ID (notably the UK and RoI.) and so must use a passport.

The Schengen agreement is an open borders agreement between a number of countries - some of which are EU members and some which are not. These countries allow passport free travel between them regardless of citizenship.

Schengen countries obviously check the passport of anyone entering from out side the Schengen zone - this is why there is border control between the UK and the Netherlands. It is not true to say many European Countries reciprocate border controls - they all do; not to punish the UK but because we are treated the same as all non-Schengen nation. The only country the UK has passport-free borders with is the Republic of Ireland; again nothing to do with the EU but due to a separate free travel agreement (called the CTA) that exists.

Czech citizens (and anyone else located in the Czech republic) can have passport free entry into the Schengen zone (not necessarily the EU) because the country has fully implemented the Schengen Agreement - not because of any EU status or citizenship.

Conversely Norway and Switzerland are Schengen countries and have open borders with the Schengen zone even though neither are members of the EU and their citizens don't have EU citizenship.