How do passport validity rules work?
Every country decides how long your passport must still be valid when you visit. The rules differ in two ways: how long (from "valid on the day you arrive" to 6 months) and what the period is counted from: the day you arrive, the day you leave, or just the length of your stay. A passport with 5 months left is fine for Japan but not for Thailand.
The checker applies the destination's own rule where we found it in the destination government's published guidance (for example the EU, Mexico, Singapore, Türkiye and Israel). Otherwise it uses your own government's entry requirements: the US State Department for US passports and the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) for British passports. Every rule is quoted from the official page and dated.
What do the three results mean?
- ✓ Meets the entry rule. Your passport is valid for long enough on the dates you entered.
- ! Less margin than advised. You meet the legal rule, but official advice or airlines ask for more, or your passport expires during the stay. Many travellers renew anyway to avoid problems at check-in.
- ✕ Doesn't meet the rule. You could be refused boarding or entry. The checker shows the date your passport must reach and when to renew.
The Schengen area: 10 years and 3 months
For a short stay in any of the 29 Schengen countries, your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you enter and must be valid at least 3 months after the day you leave the Schengen area. If you visit several Schengen countries in a row, the 3 months count from your final exit, not from each country. British passports renewed before October 2018 can carry extra months that don't count: see the UK passport 10-year rule.
When should I renew my passport?
Renew early enough to have the new passport before the first trip it's needed for. The checker counts back from that trip using official processing times, checked on 2026-10-28:
- US passports: the State Department says it may take up to 2 weeks for your application to reach them, routine processing takes 4–6 weeks (expedited 2–3 weeks), and up to 2 weeks for the passport to reach you. We use the slow end: 70 days routine, 49 days expedited.
- UK passports: HM Passport Office says you'll usually get your passport within 3 weeks, so we count back 21 days. GOV.UK also warns not to book travel until you have a valid passport, because the new one has a different number.
The Add a renewal reminder button saves an all-day calendar event (.ics) on your renew-by date, with an alert a week before. It works with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook.
US passport card: land and sea only
The US passport card can't be used for international flights. It works at land and sea crossings from Canada and Mexico, and on cruises to some Caribbean islands. In Mexico it only covers the border zone by land. Choose "US passport card" above and say how you're arriving to check each stop. More in our Mexico passport guide.