Have you checked your passport’s expiration date lately? Well, if you haven’t, it’s a good time to take a peek.
I was talking to a friend once about an upcoming trip. My friend mentioned that he was going through the pages of his passport and marveling at the stamps he’d collected over the ten years since getting his passport. My travel professional antenna went up and I asked, what is the expiration date on your passport? While his passport was still valid for his upcoming trip, it did not meet the validity requirement for the country we were traveling to.
Like many countries, the validity requirement for his destination was six months beyond the last date of travel. This meant that his passport needed to be renewed. In a rush, he renewed his passport.
Many countries have a passport validity requirement that could range anywhere from two weeks to six months.
Even if your passport doesn’t expire for months, it’s a good idea to start the process now for renewal for the reason I mentioned above and when the passport agency reopened for non-emergency services just a few months ago, it did so with a backlog and minimal staff.
The current processing time is between 10 to 12 weeks. The expedited service is still available, however, that service’s processing time is currently four to six weeks according to the State Department website. Also, remember that the expedited service incurs an additional fee. In the event you have an emergency situation and need immediate international travel, you can make an in-person appointment.
