Why Italy

Will I be able to travel to Italy? even though my passport is expiring soon?

I am a US Citizen travelling to Italy for a few days. My passport expires in 3 weeks time, but the trip to Italy will be inside that time frame. Do they have a law saying that you have to have an amount of time left before your passport expires before entering Italy? Thanks

Public Comments

1. you can travel even if lets say you leave today and your passport expires in two days.. they just tell you that its the last time you can use it and then you have to renew it but yes you can travel :)
2. no, you will not be able to leave the US, i tried with my US passport to go to France and my passport still had 6 months of validity left, the travel agent precisely told me # that he could not sell me a plane ticket# i called the passport office in Washington DC and was told # no. i could not leave with only 6 months left # and i was going to my home country. one thing? Italy will NOT let you enter with your passport about to expire,nor any other country. so? try it..
3. I doubt you will be able to travel to Italy is your passport is expiring so soon.... most countries (USA incl) require that a passport be valid at least 6 months past the date you are traveling. According to the link below, Italy require your US passport be valid 3 months beyond your intended stay. ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: Italy is a party to the Schengen agreement. As such, U.S. citizens may enter Italy for up to 90 days for tourist or business purposes without a visa. ***The passport should be valid for at least three months beyond the period of stay.***** For further details about travel into and within Schengen countries, please see our fact sheet.
4. Of course may you travel to Italy as long as your passport is valid. I do not know why some contributors or ignorant travel agents are still talking about six months passport validation. The United States and Italy have concluded an agreement on passport validation. Italian citizens may travel to the US on the Visa Waiver Program and their passports must be valid during the time of stay. The required 6 months passport validation is waived by that agreement... http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/104770.pdf .. The same applies for US citizens traveling visa-free to Italy. The website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states: Entry of aliens into Italy Admission to Italian territory through the external borders of the Schengen Area is only permitted to aliens who: a. seek entry through a border crossing point; b. are in possession of a valid passport... http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Ministero/Servizi/Stranieri/ServReteConsolare.htm#entry .. If a travel agent would not let you board ask him to do a check on the IATA database which determines the passport and visa requirements for aircraft passengers or talk to his supervisor. Unfortunately the website of the US State Department for travel advice shows the general passport requirements for visits to Schengen countries (3 months beyond the intended stay) but not the exemptions based on bilateral agreements. Source(s): http://www.klm.com/travel/ch_en/travel_information/travel_planning/travel_clinic/visaform.htm @ mamour: If you travel to your home country and hold a France passport you could even use it if it has not become invalid longer than 5 years. Some travel agents are just to lazy to check individual document requirements and try to establish the general 6 month validation rule. Don't be satisfied with that talk to their supervisors and you'll see that you get on the plane even if your passport expires two days later... http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/025.htm