12/22/2021
One of the first questions we ask our clients when we start planning a getaway for them outside of the US is “do you have valid passports?” Here are a few tips about passports:
In most cases, “valid” means your passport doesn’t expire for six months AFTER your date of departure. In other words, if you’re leaving your destination December 15, your passport needs to be valid until June 15 of the following year. There are some exceptions, but we recommend renewing before this happens. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
The only destinations that don’t require passports are the US territories (USVI and Puerto Rico). You don’t need a passport for Hawaii, but you DO need one for Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas, etc.
EVERY US citizen, regardless of age, needs a passport to leave and re-enter the US. This includes your newborn baby.
Cruises that leave from and return to a US port typically don’t require passports HOWEVER some cruise lines are starting to make changes to this. We also highly recommend having them in case you needed to return home from one of the foreign ports you visited during your cruise.
Processing times are improving from the 4-6 months that it was taking over the summer – we’ve been seeing times more like 8-12 weeks for regular processing recently. For more information, visit the US Department of State: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html.
Use Self-Service Tools Online: Get your questions answered immediately by using one of the self-service tools available on our site. Check online for your passport status. Customer service representatives will not give status updates over the phone.