When airlines send a reminder to check your travel documents before flying, how many of us think to look at expiry dates? Avoid the last minute scramble for passport renewal forms with Skyscanner Australia’s country-by-country guide to the requirements for travel.
Imagine if you purchased an annual gym membership only to find out it’s actually only usable for 11 months. The swipe card is still yours for that final month, but they’re not going to let you in.
Well… you’d probably feel rather cheated, report them to Consumer Affairs and storm off looking for another gym.
It’s a similar scenario with passports – but unfortunately we have no choice in the matter! Passports all have a use-by date, but seeing as most countries require at least six months’ validity to allow entry, its actual expiry date is rendered useless. Instead of a lifespan of 10 years, you have nine and a half.
This is a lesson our Deputy Editor Valentina Todoroska recently learned the hard way when she was due to travel to Singapore and found out three days before that she required at least six months validity to fly.
“I had no idea about the six month passport rule. I only came across it when looking at the Smart Traveller website the weekend before I was due to fly.”
Listen: The Mamamia Out Loud team share their travelling horror stories – most of them period-related. Post continues after audio.
Top Comments
Most people who hold passports are well aware of this.
It's outlined clearly on every single bit of travel documentation in the known universe.