The Six Month Validity Rule for U.S. Passports - List of Countries

Many countries require travelers to have passports with at least 6 months of remaining validity as an entry requirement. Some require the passport be valid for six months from the date of entry while others require six months validity beyond one's stay.

If your passport does not have the required amount of validity, the airlines will not allow you to board your plane. Unfortunately, many travelers only discover this rule within days of their departure dates - or, worse yet, after they arrive at the airport. This means rescheduling flights and rushing to expedite a passport renewal. For some, this may mean cancelling their trip altogether.

Below is a list of all the countries that currently follow the six-month validity rule. Be aware, however, that entry requirements change. You should always contact the embassy of the country you plan to visit as well as your airline(s) to verify the passport requirements for your international travel itinerary. That said, making sure your passport's expiration date is at least six months away from your departure date will help you to avoid most potential complications.

The list is organized by continents with countries listed in alphabetical order. Be aware that many of the countries on the list also require a visa for entry.

Europe is absent from this list. Due to stricter border controls in many European countries, the US State Department recommends that American citizens traveling to the countries in the Schengen Area should have a passport with six months of remaining validity. That said, the official requirement is only three months. While the rules for entering the countries that are a part of the Schengen Agreement are slated to change with the introduction of the ETIAS visa waiver program in 2021, this is not expected to change the required amount of passport validity required for entry.

Africa

Alegeria Angola Botswana Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cote d'Ivoire Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon

Ghana Kenya Malawi Mauritania Mozambique Namibia Rwanda Sao Tome and Principe Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia

Asia

Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma Cambodia China Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Malaysia Mongolia

Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste (East Timor) Turkmenistan Turkey United Arab Emirates Vietnam Yemen

N. America

Antigua and Barbuda Grenada Honduras

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Trinidad and Tobago

Oceania

Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Palau

Papua New Guinea Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

S. America

Bolivia Ecuador Guyana

Suriname Venezuela

Just discovered your passport doesn't have the six months of validity required?

Visit the nearest regional passport agency or get an expedited passport courier service to submit the application form on your behalf and renew your passport as quickly as the same day.

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