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The general rule when traveling internationally is that you need at least 6 months of validity on your passport to be allowed to enter a country. Of those, some nations allow you to have 6 months left on it from the day you enter. But others require you to have 6 months from the day you depart. It just depends on the country.

However, there are some countries and territories that allow you to have less than 6 months left on your passport and still visit them:

Albania

Passport must be valid for at least three months from the date of arrival. One page must be blank for entry stamp.

Armenia

Passport must be valid at time of entry and departure. However if your flight(s) have a stopover in any of the Schengen countries, your passport will then need to be valid for at least 3 months past your departure date.

Aruba

Passport must be valid at time of entry and for duration of stay. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

Australia

Passport must be valid at time of entry. One page required for entry stamp.

The Bahamas

Your passport must be valid at time of entry. Two pages are required for entry stamp.

Barbados

Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

Belarus

Passport must be valid for at least three months from the date of arrival. Two blank pages when presented to Belarusian immigration authorities.

Belize

Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Belize and must have one page blank per stamp.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Passport must be valid for three months after the planned date of departure. One page is required for an entry stamp.

Brazil

Your passport must be valid on the date of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

Canada

Passport must be valid at time of entry. If you’re transiting Canada en route to Europe, your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area. Must have one blank page.

Cayman Islands

Passport must be valid at time of entry and exit. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

Costa Rica

Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Costa Rica and must have at least one page.

Dominican Republic

Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Ireland and must have at least one page.

El Salvador

Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

Georgia

Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.

Guatemala

Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.

Honduras

Passport must have three months validity. Must have one blank page per stamp.

Hong Kong

Passport must be valid for one month beyond the date of your intended stay. Must have one blank page.

Ireland

Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Ireland and must have at least one page.

Israel

No minimum requirement, but your authorized stay must not exceed the validity remaining on your passport.

Also note that airlines may decline boarding if a traveler has fewer than six months of validity on his or her passport.

One page required for entry stamp (although passports are normally not stamped upon entry into Israel).

Jamaica

Passport must be valid at time of entry and exit. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

Japan

Passport must be valid for the duration of intended period of stay. Please note you cannot travel on a passport you have previously declared as lost or stolen, even if you subsequently locate it. One page is required for entry stamp.

Kazakhstan

Passport must be valid for 3 months. Must have one blank page.

Lebanon

Passport must be valid for ninety days following entry, with no Israeli stamps or visas. One page required for entry stamp.

Panama

Passport must be valid for 3 months beyond date of arrival. Must have one blank page per stamp.

Paraguay

Passport must be valid at time of entry. One blank page requested for entry stamp.

Macau

Passport must be valid for one month beyond the date of your intended stay. Must have one blank page.

Mexico

Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.

Moldova

Passport must be valid for 3 months. Must have one blank page.

Montenegro

Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page per stamp.

New Zealand

Passport must be valid for 3 months beyond date of departure. Must have one blank page.

Nicaragua

Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Nicaragua and must have one blank page per stamp.

Nauru

Passport must be valid for 3 months. Must have one blank page.

Saint Lucia

Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in Saint Lucia and must have at least one page.

The Schengen Region

Officially, you’re only supposed to need 3 months to enter the 29 Schengen Countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland). However, the rules for each country vary in terms of passport requirements.

These are the Schengen Region countries that allow a passport with less than 6 months left (but keep in mind that if you’re traveling through one of the countries that require 6 months – i.e. a stopover in Austria [which requires 6 months beyond your planned departure date] to get to Belgium [which only requires 3 months], you’ll still need 6 months on your passport):

• Belgium – Passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area and must have 2 pages minimum.
• Bulgaria – Passport needs to be valid for at least three months beyond your departure date from Bulgaria, and most have one blank page for entry/exit stamps.
• Croatia – Passport must be valid for three months after the planned date of departure. One page is required for an entry stamp.
• Estonia – Passport should be valid for at least three months beyond your stay, with 1 page per entry stamp.
• France – Passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area and must have at least one blank page for stamps.
• Germany – Passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area and must have 2 pages.
• Hungary – Passport required to have three months validity beyond the planned departure date from the Schengen area (although six months validity is recommended) and must have 1 page per stamp.
• Iceland – Three months required, six months recommended beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area, and two pages required for entry stamp.
• Italy – Six months validity recommended. At least 3 months validity beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area and two pages are required for the entry stamp.
• Malta – Passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned date of departure from the Schengen area and must have one page for entry stamp.
• Netherlands – A passport must be valid for at least three months beyond the planned date of departure from the Schengen area. Two pages required for entry stamp.
• Poland – Six months remaining validity strongly recommended; at least three months remaining validity beyond planned departure from the Schengen area is required.
• Romania – Passport needs to be valid for at least three months beyond your departure date, and must have one blank page per stamp.
• Slovenia – Six months recommended; at least three months beyond your planned departure from the Schengen area. One page required for entry stamp.
• Spain – 6 months recommended, 3 months beyond your date of departure is required, and 1 page per stamp.
• Sweden – Passport must be valid at least three months beyond the period of stay, and have space for entry and exit stamps.

The Seychelles

Passport must be valid for duration of stay and one blank page required.

Sint Maarten

Passport must be valid for duration of stay and one blank page required.

South Africa

Passport must be valid for 30 days beyond your intended date of exit from South Africa. Must have 2 consecutive empty visa pages per entry (not including endorsement pages).

South Korea

Passport must be valid at time of entry. One blank page per stamp.

Taiwan

Passport must be valid for duration of stay and one blank page required.

Turks and Caicos Islands

The passport must have 3 months of validity upon entry. Two pages are required for entry stamp.

Ukraine

Passport must be valid at time of entry and exit. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

United Kingdom

Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay in the United Kingdom (At least six months remaining validity is required for onward travel to many other countries). Must have one blank page.

Uruguay

Passport must be valid at time of entry. Must have one blank page for entry stamp.

Important Note:

Obviously, there’s a lot more to international travel than just having a passport that’s still valid for X amount of time. For example, some countries require visas or visa waivers (the Schengen Region countries will require a visa waiver from U.S. residents relatively soon, although its launch has been delayed [*cough* several times. But not as many times as Real ID has been delayed *cough*]), sometimes based on the length of your stay, sometimes just to enter the country.

You can check the State Department’s website for specifics.

But if you have less than 6 months left on your passport and want to go SOMEWHERE before you send it to the State Department for renewal (and let it languish for weeks to months), at least you know where you may be able to go.

Feature Photo: pxfuel

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