Passport

[evertonsue]

How many months should be left on a passport to class as valid, I'm travelling to USA in mid January 2006 and my passport expires June 2006 does this mean I need to renew it? Thanks!

[dazf]

normally the pasport need to be valid at least 6mths after u come back from going on holiday,

you should not really have any problems with going abroad with a passport valid 4 less than 6mths but it is recomended to renew ur passport as the airline could refuse u travel and depending on the type of ticket u have u could then loose your flight and holiday,

sometimes u could get on the flight and then when u arrive in america they might let u in the country 4 ur duration or then they might send u back due to passport not valid 4 the 6mths.. this i do not think happens as much as the airline refusing u travel due to passport expiring soon.

hope this helps.

darren

[SteveD]

Also, as your passport is old, it is presumably not a machine-readable one which you would require in order to benefit from the visa waiver scheme.

If it is not machine-readable you will have to get a visa in it which can be a hassle.

This is from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office site:

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS


Most British Citizen passport holders do not need a visa to visit the US on business, pleasure or in transit if they intend to stay in the US for less than 90 days and as long as they have a Machine Readable Passport. This is called the Visa Waiver Programme, and more information on this is available on the US Embassy website (details at the end of this section). The requirement to have a machine readable passport was introduced on 26 October 2004.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible to travel to the USA without a visa, the following Questions and Answers may be helpful.

Is my passport machine readable?

If your passport is machine-readable it will have at the foot of the personal information page (at the back of the passport) 2 lines of text as letters, numbers and chevrons (>>>).If there are no lines of text, then the passport is not machine-readable and you need a visa. The personal information page should also describe your nationality status as, "British Citizen".

[evertonsue]

yeah it is a machine readable one because I went to the States in January this year. I was told you had to have more then 90 days which in my case I have 180 days left

[kempie]

Yes, 90 days validity from the date of entry is all that is required as part of the VWP.

You do have the option of renewing your passport up to 9 months prior to its expiration and having the extra 'unused' time credited to your new passport.

http://www.ukpa.gov.uk/_1_applications/1_renewing.asp

[kempie]

...actually my first statement is not accurate.

Your passport need only be valid for the length of your stay in the US - link.