A friend traveling to Marrakesh via Paris was turned away at SFO with a passport that expired in 45 days. She is well traveled and didn’t think of checking the expiration date.   Luckily, she taxied directly to the SF Passport agency, filled out forms and the next day with new passport photos in hand, she picked up an expedited passport – however, she missed the first 4 days of her pre-planned tour. Delta was kind enough to change her departure dates without penalty fees, had this been in the height of summer travel, flights could be sold out for days.

When traveling to an international destination most people know that U.S. passports are required to enter an international destination, but what is unknown to many travelers is that some countries require you to have at least six months validity to your passport, some areas, like Costa Rica require you to have more than 90 days before your passport expires.

A passport’s validity lasts 10 years. But you may not be able to travel with it, even if it is still valid. That’s because foreign countries keep their own set of requirements concerning your passport. Many countries will not grant entry if your passport expires within six months. Other countries will only allow entry if your passport is valid for the entire length of your visa, which can range up to 90 days and beyond.

The U.S. Department of State no longer adds visa pages to U.S. passports as of January 2016. U.S. Passports can now be ordered with 52 Visa pages for globetrotters.

If you haven’t yet applied for have Global Entry, a gentle reminder to apply – once you are approved, add the Trusted Traveler number to all your airline accounts to achieve  TSA approval on domestic flights. TSA has advised long summer security lines. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry