Does anyone have recent experience with boarding planes and what I just learned about today: the 6-month validity rule? Passport expires Oct 1, flight leaves March 25 but returns April 2. Is that a problem since it is 1 day short of 6 months for the return date?
4 comments
The validity of the passport to get into Japan is the duration of your stay. There is no need for the passport to be valid longer as far as I’m aware.
Other countries, such as The US, require the passport to be valid for 6 months beyond the stay.
Edit: airlines may have different requirements though, if so you should check with them.
Edit2: Not sure why the downvote without explanation?
From the US embassy website about travel to Japan:
>Passport validity required for traveling to Japan: Duration of intended period of stay. **Note that although you are not required to have 6 months’ validity on your passport to enter Japan**, you may need 6 months’ validity if you transit Japan to travel to other countries. Check passport requirements of your destination before traveling:
https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/welcomebacktojapan/
For what it’s worth, I have a few years left on my visa and left the country in December, came back early January with less than a month on my passport. In fact, I’ve sent it off for renewal now. I didn’t have any problem coming back despite having ~3 weeks left of validity for my passport.
What passport, to go where? Different countries have different rules.
I flew to the U.S. for two weeks in December 2018 when my passport expired in January 2019. Just renewed it by mail with the U.S. embassy when I got back to Japan. I had no issues. (Going by the flair, I assume you’re American going to the U.S.?)