With summer just around the corner, holidaymakers can finally travel and visit their bucket list destinations after almost two years of restricted travel thanks to coronavirus.
However, sometimes this holiday excitement can cause travellers to pay less attention to entry rules applied by different countries- and one of the most commonly overlooked are passport validity rules.
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According to VisaGuide.World there are 70 countries that have a 6-month passport rule, while another 41 apply the 3-month passport validity rule, which means travellers can enter their territory if they have a passport that is valid for at least 3 more months, some countries require other validity periods upon arrival.
What does this mean? The six month validity rule states that a passport must be valid for another six months before its holder’s departure for international travel.
A few countries may have bilateral agreements so the validity of the passport could be required to shorten or even eliminate altogether.
To avoid confusion, it is best that travellers get informed beforehand - but which countries apply the rules?
According to VisaGuide.World there are 70 countries that have a 6-month passport rule : Afghanistan, Indonesia, Samoa, Algeria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Anguilla, Iraq, Singapore, Bahrain, Israel, Solomon Islands, Bhutan, Jordan, Somalia, Botswana, Kenya, Somaliland, British Virgin Islands, Kiribati, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Laos, Sudan, Cambodia, Madagascar, Suriname, Cameroon, Malaysia, Taiwan, Cayman Islands, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Central African Republic, Micronesia, Thailand, Chad, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, Comoros, Namibia, Tokelau, Côte D’Ivoire, Nicaragua, Tonga, Curacao, Nigeria, Tuvalu, Ecuador, Oman, Uganda, Egypt, Palau, United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Equatorial Guinea, Philippines, Venezuela, Fiji, Qatar, Vietnam, Gabon, Rwanda, Yemen, Guinea Bissau, Saint Lucia, Zimbabwe, and Guyana.
While another 41 apply the 3-month passport validity rule: Albania, Lithuania, Austria, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Malta, Belarus, Moldova, Belgium, Monaco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Czechia, Nauru, Estonia, Netherlands, Finland, New Zealand, France, North Macedonia, Georgia, Norway, Germany, Panama, Greece, Poland, Honduras, Portugal, Iceland, Senegal, Italy, Slovakia, Jordan, Slovenia, Kuwait, Spain, Latvia, Sweden, Lebanon, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
Some countries require other validity periods upon arrival : Bermuda-45 days upon entry, Eritrea-3 months on arrival, Hong Kong-3 months on arrival, Lebanon-3 months on arrival, Macau-3 months on arrival, Micronesia-4 months on arrival, South Africa-3 months on arrival, The Maldives-3 months on arrival, and Zambia-4 months on arrival.
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