In the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, many countries require that a U.S. passport have six months of validity remaining for issuance of a visa or for permission to enter. Some airlines will not allow passengers with less than six months of passport validity to board flights to these destinations.

Countries requiring six months of validity include: Mainland China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Turkey.

European countries within the Schengen zone generally have a three-month validity requirement.

Hong Kong and Macau have a one-month validity requirement.

Full information about the countries you wish to visit can be found at travel.state.gov.

Please note: The six-month validity requirement does NOT apply to an American citizen using a U.S. passport to enter the United States or Canada. He/she may do so up until the date of expiration of the passport.

If your travel plans have been delayed due to a lack of required validity, please return to the passport landing page and choose the appropriate type of passport renewal.

 

Last modified: November 25, 2022