Passport validity requirements by country: the 6-month passport rule explained

Airlines check passport validity at check-in, and a passport that expires too soon is one of the most common reasons travelers get turned away at the gate, even if their destination's border agency would have let them in. Many destinations ask for at least 6 months of validity, but they don't all count from the same date. Some start the clock on your arrival date. Others count from when you leave, or only require your passport to outlast your trip. Knowing which rule applies to your destination, and how many blank pages you need, can save you from being denied boarding before you even reach the gate.

The destinations below are split into two groups: the ones TravelDeclaration covers in a full guide, listed first, and the rest, shown with the same kind of official figures but no guide page yet. Use the search box to jump to a destination.

Passport validity requirements

The 6-month rule: counted from which date?

The phrase "6 months" shows up on nearly every country's entry requirements, but it doesn't always mean the same thing. There are four different ways destinations count that period, and mixing them up is an easy way to misjudge whether your passport qualifies.

Counted from your arrival date. This is the most common version of the rule. Thailand, for example, asks that your passport be valid for 6 months after you arrive, according to UK government advice for British travelers.

Counted from your departure date, or "beyond your stay." Here, the 6 months starts after you leave the country, not when you get there. The Philippines applies this version: its Department of Foreign Affairs requires your passport to be valid for 6 months beyond your planned stay, not just 6 months from arrival.

Valid only for the length of your stay. Some destinations don't ask for a buffer at all. They simply want your passport to outlast your trip. The Dominican Republic falls into this category, according to UK advice for British passport holders, which applies until December 31, 2026, and may change after that date.

Counted from your application date. A few countries measure validity from the day you apply for your visa, rather than from your travel dates. India's e-Visa instructions require at least 6 months of validity at the time you apply, which can be well before your trip.

Because these four methods produce different results, it's worth checking which one applies to your destination before you assume a 6-month cushion is enough.

Countries that count from your departure date

Here are three examples of destinations that measure passport validity from when you leave, not when you arrive: the Philippines, Cuba, and Colombia.

The Philippines requires your passport to remain valid for 6 months beyond the end of your stay, per the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. That means your passport needs more than 6 months of validity on the day you land. For example, a 3-week trip to the Philippines means you need roughly 7 months of validity when you arrive, since the clock only starts running once you've left.

Cuba takes this further. UK government advice states your passport should be valid for 6 months after arrival and for 3 months after your planned departure, so both conditions need to be met.

Colombia's immigration authorities recommend passports remain valid for 6 months beyond your planned departure date, according to UK advice citing Colombian immigration guidance. Your passport only needs to be valid on entry itself, but the 6-month buffer is the recommended safety margin.

Countries that only need a passport valid for your stay

Not every destination asks for a 6-month buffer. Some only require your passport to last as long as your trip does, which gives you more flexibility if your passport is getting close to expiry.

The Dominican Republic is one of them. UK government advice for British travelers states that your passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your visit. This guidance applies until December 31, 2026, and the rule may change after that date, so it's worth checking closer to your travel dates if you're planning ahead.

China applies a similar approach for visa-free entrants. According to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if you're entering visa-free, your passport needs to be valid only for the length of your stay. Visa applicants face a stricter standard: more than 6 months of validity plus 2 blank visa pages, per the Chinese Embassy in the US.

Taiwan also splits its rule by nationality. Most visa-exempt visitors need at least 6 months of validity from their entry date, according to Taiwan's Bureau of Consular Affairs. US and Japanese nationals are the exception: they only need a passport valid for their intended stay.

Blank pages: how many you need

Passport validity isn't the only thing worth checking before you travel. Several destinations also require a minimum number of blank pages, and running short can cause the same boarding problems as an expired passport.

Malaysia requires 3 blank pages, according to the Malaysian Immigration Department. Several other destinations ask for 2 blank pages, including Indonesia, Vietnam, India, China, Palau, and Jamaica. Thailand and Trinidad and Tobago both require just 1 blank page.

For a number of destinations, including Singapore, Cambodia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, Canada, and Jordan, no official source states a blank page requirement. That doesn't mean no pages are needed. It means we couldn't find an official source that specifies a number. To be safe, it's worth keeping at least 2 free pages in your passport regardless of your destination.

Why airlines may stop you even if the border would let you in

Border agencies aren't the only authority checking your passport. Airlines are legally required to verify that passengers meet their destination's entry requirements before boarding, and they apply those rules at check-in, sometimes more strictly than immigration officials would at the border.

This means an airline can deny you boarding if your passport doesn't meet the destination's stated validity or blank page requirements, even if you believe your passport would have been accepted on arrival. Airlines generally can't take the risk of carrying a passenger who might be refused entry, since they're often responsible for flying that passenger back at their own cost.

That's why it pays to check both the official government rule and your airline's check-in requirements before you travel, rather than assuming one guarantees the other.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: each row links to the official source and shows the date we last checked it.

Last verified: 28 Oct 2026