dubya

Is there such a thing as a US Government requirement that a UK national visiting the US must hold a passport that is valid for over a certain period. (i.e: expires 6-months and over).

For example, my Dad is due to fly out to see me this December and his passport expires in May 2007 Therefore this would make his passport expiring in less than 6-months.

He called the UK passport office and was told they were not sure, but thought before he travelled to the US his passport should be over 6-months before expiration.

Hope this makes sense.....

Thanks for your help.

Andrew Cross

Looks like it just needs to be valid for the intended time in the states....

Have a read of this, this is what the airlines use to check visa requirements.

http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/ti...=VK&subuser=VK

andie&jase

Here are a couple of links that explain everything:

http://www.passport.gov.uk/faqs/faq....intelement=979

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new..._validity.html

Andie

dubya

Thanks for the info.

Unfortunately, the first link stated 'some countries' require a certain validity period, but does not mention which ones.

I was unable to open the second link

Any further info would be much appreciated

blaze

The second link says that if you are travelling under the visa waiver program then it only has to have 90 days left on it before expiration.

andie&jase

Yeah, I just tried again too. It looks like the US Embassy website is down. Try again later.

I sent the first link from the UK passport agency, as it say that if you have less than 12 months left on your passport, you should consider renewing it. It only takes about a week to get your new passport back, plus they extend the expiration date to compensate for the months that are still valid on your current passport. Maybe it's worth considering that option, so there's no doubt that your passport will be valid for travel?

Good luck ~ Andie

blaze

Opens fine for me.

dubya

I found this website:

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp /without/without_1990.html#5

Nationals of the 27 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program may use VWP if:
They present a machine-readable passport (MRP) valid for six months past their expected stay in the United States (unless country-specific agreements provide exemptions). This includes all categories of passports -- regular, diplomatic, and official, when the traveler is seeking to enter the United States for business or tourist purposes, for a maximum of 90 days

(The link above shows the UK is exempt in the country specific agreement)

So according to this website there is no validity requirement.

Can I trust this??

My Dad lives in France, so it is not so simple to re-new his passport.

Let me know your thoughts....

Cheers much

Englishmum

Well....we are not US Immigration officers!

Why not phone the US Embassy in London on Monday? I know it's a premium rate call, but at least someone there should be able to put you right.

NC Penguin

... or since your father lives in France, have him call the US Embassy in France (it may be cheaper than calling a UK premium line from France).


NC Penguin

JAJ

Nothing wrong with the second link. It reads:

"If traveling under the Visa Waiver Program, the passport must be valid for at least 90 days from the date on which the holder enters the United States. If not, the holder will be admitted until the expiration date on the passport.

Note: Passport holders from Andorra, Brunei, and San Marino must be in possession of a passport valid for at least six months from the date of departure from the United States, even if traveling visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.

JAJ

Why on earth would someone want to do that when it's all explained on the website?

JAJ

There is a British Embassy in France ...

Englishmum

Because he didn't seem to understand what it said on the website and asked for clarification!

Bob

being from the state department website, yes you can trust it....it's the government website.