Question about entry to France

Just today, less than 10 days before our departure to our Paris cruise, I read that France requires an extra 3 months on your passport from the date you are leaving France. My husband's passport is short of that time by 2 weeks....

After hyperventilating, I called our travel agent, who called Globus. They said this was not a problem.

What is it like to go through customs upon arrival in France? Is this going to be stressful?

Just today, less than 10 days before our departure to our Paris cruise, I read that France requires an extra 3 months on your passport from the date you are leaving France. My husband's passport is short of that time by 2 weeks....

 

After hyperventilating, I called our travel agent, who called Globus. They said this was not a problem.

 

What is it like to go through customs upon arrival in France? Is this going to be stressful?

Hi -

Are you saying that France is requiring 9 months on your passport?

Most airlines identify that your passport needs to be valid for 6 months after your date of travel, which is rather annoying... (it means my passport isn't good for 5 years, it is good for 4 1/2....) - so not sure why France is asking for an extra 3 above that.

We did not find customs in France to be any more stringent than any other country in Europe. They may just be more interested in knowing that you have a return ticket.

Fran

I think you will bbe fine as long as you have a return ticket.

We're travelling next week with Avalon a sub of Globus and they told us we needed 6 months after the date we're leaving Europe. Found this link on entering France and it also says 6 months. http://www.crb-france.org/entering_france.html and this one for entering Europe, also suggest 6 months. http://www.visiteurope.com/Plan/Practical-Information/Need-to-know/Visas-passports Hope you're ok.

France says 3 months. DH is 1 week short.

We didn't know until today.

I would not rely on this forum for answers to such questions. Rather I would call the French Embassy or Consulate for a definitive answer and if needed get an expedited passport.

You cannot use the answers you get here as your source when you stand before the immigration officer at the airport.

Good luck.

Terri

To leave the US you are required to have 6 months left on your passport. That is 6 months from the date of your return. France only requires 3 months.

All of the international airlines I know of require 6 months of validity from return date (as stated above by rahra50) on your passport before leaving. If your husband's passport does not have this you will probably not get past the check-in counter here in the states. In which case you won't have to worry about the French requirements. Didn't your cruise company/TA inform you of this? When I booked my cruise that was one of the first questions I was asked and then had to verify it by supplying passport info on a written Passenger Information Form (PIF).

Call the US Passport Office and your airline.

Google Expedited Passport. There are services that you can use. They do charge you for it.

cb

My travel agent told me that the airlines can not stop you from leaving with a valid passport. She told me that it should be no problem with the French. She said she confirmed this with Globis and to her knowledge they have never stopped anyone.

But I worry, so I have set up an appt for my husband to renew his passport in Atlanta. Unfortunately, it is an all day trip.:(

I don't know where this 6 month rule comes from, and am not sure how vigorously it is enforced, if at all, but I was always made aware of it by an airline/TA/cruise company whenever I booked something.

Better to be safe than sorry.

I copied the following from the Viking website that is in their section called "Travel Documents and Visas"

Passports

Due to airline security measures, your passport name must match your airline ticket name or you may be denied boarding. Your passport’s expiration date must be at least six months after your return from your trip; if it is not, you should renew your passport.

My travel agent told me that the airlines can not stop you from leaving with a valid passport. She told me that it should be no problem with the French. She said she confirmed this with Globis and to her knowledge they have never stopped anyone.

But I worry, so I have set up an appt for my husband to renew his passport in Atlanta. Unfortunately, it is an all day trip.:(

I am so glad you decided to do this. It would have ruined your trip be so worried.

cb

We had friends whose daughter was not allowed to fly to The Bahamas because she had less then 6 months left on her passport, so I am happy to hear you are going to obtain a new passport.

While a travel agent may say an airline cannot stop you from leaving the country, I had a distinctly different experience. Five years ago we were flying Delta JFK to Paris: my husband and I and three of our children. My youngest son, 12 at the time had a passport that expired 4 weeks after our return (completely my mistake for not noticing, i just looked to see it was valid)We did not take off, I did have to go the next morning and have his passport renewed e emergently. The rest of us had passports that expired 12 months later, both parents were present. Mercifully Delta did not charge any fees and honored our tickets (business class) for the next day. Lesson learned, do NOT try and mess with the passport rules

Sounds like your TA dropped the ball on this one.

If she booked your tickets - and didn't inquire about your passport - I would be asking for some financial reimbursement for any out of pocket expenses incurred for something he/she should have made you aware of.

Fran

Thanks for all your input. US Air said that there would be no problem with the passport, but the French foreign consulate said that they could stop you in France.

Our travel agent said that we need not worry! But we are worriers, so will be going to Atlanta to renew in person. Hate the 11th hour stuff, but it is much better than worrying!

I just wish our TA had told us about this because we could have saved a day of travel to Atlanta, but it is a bump in the road.

@ Franski, no our TA didn't drop the ball. In 18 years of travelling, 7 ocean cruises, including four Mediterranean cruises and land cruises to Egypt, Turkey and France and yearly trips from New York to Puerto Rico for a timeshare and typically travelling with four children, I have never used a TA (wow long sentence). I prefer to book everything myself. I often use frequent flyer miles for our airfare because with six people, airfare is a significant cost. so yes maybe with a TA this would have been avoided but maybe not, it was the youngest child and as I said, a TA may have said something but I am not certain I would have focused in on this particular passport. My point was believe the rules. The Delta agent would NOT allow us to process our tickets despite a number of phone calls to numerous persons "in charge" while we were attempting to check-in in the Business Class line due to the fact my sons passport was going to expire and as I said this wasnt a case of a single parent trying to take a child out of the country which is typically now very carefully regulated

Just to add a few more details, while my youngest son's passposrt expired in four weeks, my husband"s and my pasport expired in over 12 months and my other 2 children's passports expired in over 24 moths. We were all booked on the same flights departing and returning three weeks later but the fact that my youngest child's passport expired four weeks after our return was a non-negotiable deal. Delta was adamant the French did not agree to this scenario and we could not board

@ Franski, no our TA didn't drop the ball.

Hi -

Sorry - guess I should have been a bit clearer.... I was actually commenting to the OP who said her TA told her not to worry.

Dates on passports - especially when everyone in the family *doesn't* have the same renewal date - could be challenging to keep track of. But, when someone books air with a TA, I would expect the TA to inquire about the presence of a passport, and the expiry date of said document. The TA should know the travel requirements.

I find it interesting that US Air said not to worry. It isn't just "foreign" governments that have this rule. I have been warned by US Customs when entering the US by car that my passport was "getting close" to the 6 month mark - and reminded to renew it before I made another trip down, or I wouldn't be allowed to enter again.

I also find it interesting that Globus would say not to worry. There is a statement on the Avalon website that most countries require your passport to be valid for 6 months after your return from your trip - and even go so far as to recommend that you have 3 blank pages in your passport. There are also numerous disclaimers about them (ie: Avalon) not being responsible for any costs incurred if you miss any of your flights. If you missed a flight because your TA didn't tell you about the passport requirements - even if Globus said not to worry - there is no recourse. It is all there in black and white.

I think getting the passport renewed - even though it will require a significant commitment of time - is a wise decision.

Fran

Exactly my point, anyone can say don't worry on the phone but upon arrival at the airport, guess what, the gate agent makes decisions