How many months do I have left on my passport? Everything you need to know before traveling

You might think you can just hop on a plane with an up-to-date passport and fly the world. In fact, many countries require visitors to have months left on their passport before it expires.

Some – including Australia, Canada and the United States – only require that your travel document be current for the duration of your trip.

But others give a more restrictive deadline, with no real pattern from region to region – while most of Asia requires six months on your passport, for example, different Caribbean islands require different deadlines.

In some destinations, you may also be surprised that you don’t have enough space in your passport for new immigration stamps.

Here are the main UK passport validity rules for major holiday destinations around the world.

Valid for the duration of your stay

These countries only require that your passport be valid until the day you leave the country.

*Although this is technically the rule for Canada, if you have six months or less on your passport, it may take longer to clear immigration.

Valid for one day

Costa Rica requires Brits to have one day validity from the day of departure.

Valid 1 month/30 days

New Zealand requires your passport to be valid for one month from your exit date.

South Africa requires that you have 30 days left on your passport from your exit date, but allowing six months or more is highly recommended. You must also have two blank pages for immigration stamps.

Valid for two months

Cuba requires that you have a passport with a validity of two months from your departure date.

Valid for three months

All EU countries, as well as those in the Schengen area (except Ireland), require three months to remain on your passport from the day you plan to leave. Your passport must also be less than 10 years old on the day you enter the country. This is true for the following countries:

These non-European countries also require a validity of three months on the day of your departure:

Valid for six months

In most cases this means six months validity from the date of arrival in the country, but it is worth checking with the Foreign Office. individual entry requirements for the country you are visiting to make sure.

*Madagascar and Kenya also require you to have two blank pages in your passport. Namibia requires a blank page.

Valid for 180 days

India requires a more specific validity of 180 days from the date of arrival. It also asks visitors to have two blank pages available for their visa.