Most international travelers often don't realize that having an unexpired passport is sometimes just not enough depending on the country they are traveling to. United States citizens attempting to travel using passports that expire in less than six months have increasingly been denied airline boarding or even been detained upon arrival to their destinations. If you somehow make it to your destination and are detained at the airport, you will be left to pay your way back to your home country!

Be sure to check each country's entry and exit travel requirements before leaving for your trip. As a general rule, make sure you have at least six months validity on your passport before the date you plan on traveling.

Below is a list of countries that require six months passport validity (requirements can change at any time, so be sure to check the country's embassy/consulate or with the US State Department):

Albania
Angola
Bahrain
Belize
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Burma (Myanmar)
Burundi
China
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Ecuador (including Galápagos Islands)
French Polynesia
Guyana
Honduras
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel*
Kenya
Kiribati
Laos
Madagascar
Malaysia
Mauritius
Micronesia**
Mozambique
Namibia
New Caledonia
Nicaragua (currently waived by bilateral agreement)
Oman
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine
Venezuela
Vietnam
Zambia

Some airlines that fly to Israel may require six month passport validity.

Micronesia requires four months passport validity




*Name changed for privacy