Planning an international vacation with your family to some European destination? Well, it might sound strange but it is true that many European countries will not accept US passports. So before you start the procedure of planning, here is some important information that might be of help to you.
I know a couple who had immaculately planned their European holiday. With the Monaco Grand Prix dates colliding with the holiday dates, they had decided to take a halt in France and enjoy the grand event. This was among the ‘wish list’ that the couple had. But, things didn’t seem as smooth as they had thought. They went to the airport on the right day and found something during check-in that made them super upset. The gate agent took a look at their passports and shook his head, making it clear that there was some problem.
The couple planned their journey towards the late of May and had plans of returning by early June. And the passports were valid till August. It was shocking to know that the expiry date of the passport was the actual problem. Majority of European countries ask for passports with validity of minimum 6 months after the date of return. Without this validity of the passport, a US citizen might be denied an entry to the European nation.
Obviously there must be a reason as why many European countries do this to US travelers and other global travelers. As per opinion of a travel enthusiast, this is mainly done to be safe in case there is a situation that demands extended stay in the country. For instance, you unfortunately meet with an accident in a European country and need hospitalization and medical treatments for months. If your passport is not valid that will be a problem. Passport officials do not want to handle such hassles and therefore request to have minimum 6 months validity of the passport before traveling to any European destination.
Usually the time taken to get a passport renewed takes almost 7-8 days. However, there are passport agencies, which help in getting passports renewed on the same day on expedite basis. Charges for such passport renewal programs are higher than normal rates. Once the passports were renewed with the expedite services, the couple flew to France to watch the Monaco Grand Prix and then completed their European vacation as well.