Bamboozled Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Hey guys, we are all set to fly out to Bangkok and then England for a holiday leaving Sunday. So I just got my passport out and there's only 5 months left on it! I'm sure I heard that you can't travel with less than 6 months, is this true?? Anyone done it? I feel so stupid, I really thought it ran out in 2015!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Couldn't you pay extra for an express passport and renew before you go? I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I would contact the airline for direction. I would think it may be too late for emergency travel documents?? Who knows? It normally takes 6 weeks, they may be able to do it in several days?! If the airline says 5 mths is ok, I would get that in writing. You could apply for another when in UK as its cheaper if they let u fly. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Is it a UK passport? I thought I'd read on here that it doesn't have to be 6 months going to your home country. ETA: Are you stopping in Bangkok? I'm not sure if that might be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I don't think that the 6 month validity applies to the UK. At the end of the day, you paid for a 10 year passport, not a 9.5 year passport and you are visiting the country of the passport, so it should be valid. It might be worth phoning the British Consulate to check though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsmb Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Most airlines wont let you fly my son was turned back in Adelaide by Singapore airlines as he only had 5 months on it he tried all ways but got a firm NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 If the airline cannot help you, speak to the British Consulate where you are. We have had many clients who have had to get emergency passports. The Consulate overseas can issue them within a day. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Hey guys,we are all set to fly out to Bangkok and then England for a holiday leaving Sunday. So I just got my passport out and there's only 5 months left on it! I'm sure I heard that you can't travel with less than 6 months, is this true?? Anyone done it? I feel so stupid, I really thought it ran out in 2015!! There is a British Consulate in Brisbane. Give them a call and see if you can get a 1 year emergency passport. I don't know if they still do this, but a few years ago we got one issued in a couple of hours. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki244 Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 We just flew to England on a British passport that only had 2 months left on it. They let us in when we got there as it's a British passport going into the UK, and they let us in coming back here because we are residents in this country and have the sticker in the British passport. We did check with immigration before we left though, and they assured us that they would have let us in with even only a day to go on the passport because we live here. (We are in NZ at the moment though, so best to check with Aus immigration dept). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlou Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 It's the immigration / border control rules in the countries you're travelling to that you need to check. You said you'll be travelling to both Thailand and the UK, so check the website for the Thai embassy in Australia to find out how long your passport needs to be valid for to transit through / enter the country. As others have said, entering the UK on a British passport that has 5 months on it is highly unlikely to be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamboozled Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 It's the immigration / border control rules in the countries you're travelling to that you need to check. You said you'll be travelling to both Thailand and the UK, so check the website for the Thai embassy in Australia to find out how long your passport needs to be valid for to transit through / enter the country. As others have said, entering the UK on a British passport that has 5 months on it is highly unlikely to be an issue. Yeah turns out that there are a handful of countries that insist on the 6 month rule and guess what? Thailand is one! Lucky we only booked a short 20 hour stopover and one night at a hotel because we are going to have to wait it out at the airport. We are allowed to transit through country but not enter I didn't have time to sort anything else out so am booked in for appointment at Newport passport office for a 4 hour issue so won't be a problem coming home via Singapore. Main thing is that I can get back to UK but no un city stopovers for us. Gonna be a very drawn out journey back but hey. Thanks for all your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Found this http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1040.html It says you do need six months for Thailand. Uk would be fine. It probably depends on whether you are staying in Thailand or passing through. But if the connection gets delayed, you may run into trouble if you have to stop over. I'd get it renewed. They are pretty quick these days, and you can ask for an express. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamboozled Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 Well I got here ok, didn't even bother trying to venture out of the airport at Bangkok so the journey was brutal lol. Went to Newport yesterday and got a passport in 4 hours. Yay lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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