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.

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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 validity. 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 2025, this is not expected to change the required amount of passport validity required for entry.

Africa

Algeria Angola Botswana Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cote d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau

Kenya Madagascar Malawi Mauritania Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nigeria Rwanda Sao Tome and Principe Senegal Sierra Leone South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Tunisia Uganda Zambia

For more, check out our complete guide to Africa Travel Document Requirements

Asia

Afghanistan Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma Cambodia China Indonesia Iran Iraq Jordan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Malaysia

Maldives Mongolia Nepal North Korea Oman Pakistan Qatar Singapore Sri Lanka Timor-Leste (East Timor) Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Vietnam Yemen

For more, check out our complete guide to Asia Travel Document Requirements

North America

Antigua and Barbuda Cuba French West Indies Grenada

Guatemala Haiti Honduras Trinidad and Tobago

Oceania

Fiji French Polynesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia New Caledonia

Palau Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

South America

Bolivia Ecuador Guyana

Peru Suriname Venezuela

Just discovered your passport doesn't have the six months of validity required? Passport processing times may make it impossible to get a passport on your own in time for your trip.

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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