Passport Validity Checker: 3 Months After You Leave

How to Use the Passport Validity Checker

The checker sits under the heading "Check Your Passport Dates" and is built for a short trip to any of the 29 Schengen countries. It has five inputs. The first is "Schengen country you're visiting," a list of the 29 countries. The other four are "Date you arrive," "Date you leave the Schengen area," "Passport date of issue," and "Passport date of expiry." The last two dates are printed on the passport's photo page, so take them from the passport itself.

The checker loads with an example already filled in: Italy, arriving 18 Jun 2027 and leaving 28 Jun 2027, on a passport issued 1 Mar 2018 and expiring 1 Mar 2028. A result appears on first load. Changing the country does not change the two checks, because the rule is the same for every Schengen country. Everything runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

A missing date, a leave date that falls before the arrive date, or an expiry date on or before the issue date each produce an error message. When a check fails, the checker prints "Renew your passport before the trip, or move your dates so both checks pass." Copy result copies a one-line summary, and Print prints the result.

If you are also building a packing list, the printable packing list generator adds a Passport line for international trips. Italy and Europe trips have their own lists: the Italy packing list and the Europe trip packing list.

• A verdict line in green or red. Green reads "Your passport meets both Schengen passport rules for these dates." Red reads that it "does not meet" them.
• A check marked ✓ or ✗ labeled "Valid 3 months after you leave." It shows the date the passport must not expire before.
• A check marked ✓ or ✗ labeled "Issued within the last 10 years." It shows the earliest issue date that passes.
• A trip-length line, such as "Trip length: N days in the Schengen area." Trips longer than 90 days also get a note that a short stay is 90 days in any 180-day period.

The Two Schengen Passport Rules

The two checks come from the Schengen Borders Code, a European Union (EU) regulation known as Regulation (EU) 2016/399. Article 6(1)(a) sets the requirement for non-EU travelers. Their travel document must be valid at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States, and it must have been issued within the previous 10 years.

Rule 1 is the three-month check. The checker adds 3 calendar months to the date you enter as "Date you leave the Schengen area," and the passport's expiry date must fall on or after that result. When 3 months later lands past the end of a shorter month, the day rolls into the next month. The checker uses this stricter reading, so 30 Nov plus 3 months gives 2 Mar.

Rule 2 is the 10-year check. The checker subtracts 10 years from the date you enter as "Date you arrive," and the passport's issue date must fall on or after that result. Rule 1 counts from the departure date because the three-month requirement runs from the intended date of departure.

Take the example trip from the checker: Italy, arriving 18 Jun 2027 and leaving 28 Jun 2027. Three months after 28 Jun 2027 is 28 Sep 2027, so the passport must not expire before that date. Ten years before 18 Jun 2027 is 18 Jun 2017, so the passport must have been issued on or after that date. A passport issued 1 Mar 2018 and expiring 1 Mar 2028 passes both checks, and the trip is 11 days long.

When a Passport Fails One Rule

A passport can pass one rule and fail the other, and the checker reports each check separately. Two variants of the example trip show how each failure looks. Either failure has the same fix: renew the passport before the trip, or move your dates so both checks pass.

• Expiry 15 Sep 2027 fails rule 1, because the passport expires before 28 Sep 2027. It is valid on every day of the trip, but rule 1 looks three months past the departure date.
• Issued 10 May 2017 and expiring 10 Nov 2027 passes rule 1, because 10 Nov 2027 is after 28 Sep 2027. It fails rule 2, because 10 May 2017 is before 18 Jun 2017.

Schengen's 3 Months vs the 6 Month Passport Rule

The "6 month passport rule" is not the Schengen rule. Schengen asks for 3 months counted from the day you leave, and because that rule comes from one EU regulation, every Schengen country applies it the same way. Picking a different country in the checker does not change the 3 month cut-off.

Countries outside Schengen set their own passport rules. The checker does not cover them.

Airlines can refuse boarding based on their own document checks. The checker does not know any airline's policy, so a passing result shows only that the two Schengen passport rules are met. Your airline may apply its own checks on top of them.

What the Checker Does Not Cover

The checker covers the two Schengen passport rules and nothing else, so visas, the EU's entry registration, and any travel authorization are outside it. The official source named under the checker is the European Commission's Schengen area page.

Cyprus and Ireland are not among the 29 countries in the checker. Cyprus takes part in Schengen cooperation, but its internal border controls have not been lifted. Ireland opts out of Schengen and enforces its own visa and border policies.

Trips longer than 90 days get a note in the checker. A short stay is 90 days in any 180-day period, and a longer stay needs a visa or residence permit from the country being visited. The checker flags only a single trip longer than 90 days. It does not count earlier trips in the last 180 days, so count your earlier Schengen days yourself.

Article 6 also allows the three-month requirement to be waived in a justified case of emergency. The checker does not apply that waiver, and it cannot tell whether one would apply to you. The border officer makes the final decision on entry.

To finish, enter your own dates in the checker above in place of the Italy example. Read both checks and the trip-length line before you book the flight.

Frequently Asked Questions