Passport Validity

[Troy29]

I intend to travel to Dubai in May and return to the UK in May 2008 . My UK passport expires in June. Will there be a problem entering and leaving Dubai?

[Kanewood]

Your passport has to be valid for six months after you return to this country. You will need a new passport.

[auntiebertie]

Actually your passport only has to be valid for 3 months after the date of arrival in the UAE. So the answer is still - you ned to get a new passport.
http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/290/pa ssport_visa/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates.h tml

[pink-kittens]

Why Kanewood? Why would upon returning to the UK would your passport need to be valid for 6 months?

However, you MAY need your passport to have 6 months to run as you enter Dubai

It's only a MAY

You can renew your passport up to 9 months before it expires (passport office will add anything owed onto your new passport) and you still have time to apply now

I paid to have mine checked at the PO and it was back in less than a week. As it will be a renewal you may not even have to get your pics signed - depends on how much you have changed in 10 years. You only need to send off your old passport and pics

HTH

[pink-kittens]

there you go Troy :)

[Kanewood]

Sorry for delay pink-kittens.
Whenever I've booked a holiday, the brochure always says you must have 6 months validity in your passport after your date of return (especially for Norway,Russia and the USA). Don't know the exact reason but I guess it must be law.

[pink-kittens]

Hi Kanewood

I've read on here that the 6 month thing is actually a myth. Beuchicco and dzug are the 2 who know their stuff

There's lots of info in this section about it
I know for some countries such as the US it needs to have 6 months on it to enter but AFAIK the amount of time left to come back can be as short as a week or less as long as you set foot in the UK before it actually runs out

If you're travelling in the EU, as long as it's in date no limit required for leaving or coming back :)

HTH

[Kanewood]

Hello pink-kittens
My last answer was actually copied from my present brochure so maybe I've been reading too much into it. It's obviously more to do with the countries visited than returning. Anyway, I renewed mine just in case!

[Buenchico]

Thanks for the compliment, Pink-Kittens ;-)

As Auntie Bertie states, you need 3 months validity on your passport when entering the UAE as a tourist. Confirmation is on the USA embassy website. (Click 'Visa'):
http://www.uaeembassyuk.net/

Incidentally, holders of UK passports do not require 6 months validity in their passports to visit the USA. (There used to be a requirement for visitors seeking a visa to have 6 months, beyond the date of their planned departure from the USA, on their passport but this no longer applies to British passports). The passport only needs to be valid until the date of departure from the USA.

Chris

[dzug]

For Dubai, a reliable source says:

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AE)

VALIDITY:
1. Passport or replacing travel document must be valid for
at least:
a. 3 months from the date of entry for visits of up to 3
months; or
b. 6 months from the date of entry for visits longer than 3
months;

So yes you have a problem

[Buenchico]

Oops!

For 'USA' in the second paragraph, read 'UAE'. (I know George Bush wants to take over the whole of the Middle East but I don't think he's quite done it yet!).

Chris

[Kanewood]

Buenchico and Dzug - I bow to your superior knowledge!

[dzug]

Whenever I've booked a holiday, the brochure always says you must have 6 months validity in your passport after your date of return (especially for Norway,Russia and the USA). Don't know the exact reason but I guess it must be law.


No it's not law. It's a cop-out.
The reason is that it saves them having to know and check for each country how long that country ACTUALLY requires on passports. If they say 6 months they are always safe - if they give actual information they run the risk of an ill trained member of staff getting it wrong.

[Kanewood]

I think you're right. Just saw somewhere that it says it is generally agreed between the holiday companies and the Passport Office that 6 months etc etc. So it's not the law but I like to err on the safe side. Stops me worrying.

[pink-kittens]

Hi Kanewood

Sorry from me this time for the slowness of reply

There you go! Answers form both of those in the know :)

I think travel companies say these things to make people check their passports expiry date? If it's got 6 months to run the day they come back there won't be any issues IYSWIM?

It's a confusing subject for sure. And they want ID cards? HELP! LOL

[Rooboru]

You folks have got it all well and truly covered.
A case that came up last week at the airport when it was mentioned that the UK government won't renew a passport while it has more than three months validity.
If that is the case, and I don't know for sure that it is, it was suggested to this particular traveller to simply report the passport as lost or stolen.
If you are travelling to any of the many countries requiring a min 6 months validity it is perhaps the only way go.

[pink-kittens]

Rooboru

I renewed my passport in Oct of 2007. It's expiry date is/was beginning of April 2008 so 6 months before it was due to expire

[rk2005red]

oh lucky you. don't come back from where ever you're going. Try pakistan. I think thats a suitable place for nasty individual like you pink kittens. You could join the Taliban. You got the right attitude.
You leave childish remarks on my thread, i do' the same to you. works both ways.