Passport Crisis

Please help I'm leaving for a 2 week trip to Italy/Greece tonight with my family and we just discovered the 3 month passport expiration rule. My parents' passports expire at the end of August, which is less than three months after the end of our trip. My dad just called the Greek embassy and they said they will not be able to enter Greece. Fortunately, we are flying into Rome so they will at least be able to get into Italy, but when my mom went to check-in our flight last night on Delta...delta wouldn't let her check in online. Apparently, a new rule(law) was passed saying your passport cannot expire within 90 days after your trip. Has anyone dealt with this new rule(law) or had a similar problem like this? I would really really appreciate any advice!!!

**We've been planning this trip since september =(

Is there any way to get it renewed right away?  I know passports can be a pain to renew and takes quite a while, but it's usually a lot easier and faster for adults over eighteen.

I've had a passport since I was just a few months old and I remember having to get it renewed like every five years or something.

ya i recommened an overnight expedite renewal service to my mom but she said that wouldnt work i dunno. its such a bummer. this new rule is so stupid

Ring the National Passport Information Centre, they will know better than us what your options are.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/npic/n pic_898.html

It took less than 3 weeks to have my passport renewed and my fiance to get a new passport through the mail.  There's also the possibility of going in to the passport office and dealing with the passport on an emergency basis.  I don't know if your situation qualifies, but it might.

She said 'tonight' so I don't think there's any chance of renewing it in a day, or if  you can when in another country? Definitely call that info centre p0nda posted about. I got my passport for the first time last summer, and I've seen it mentioned you can't travel if it expires during the trip, would think everyone should know that :s.

It doesn't expire during the trip, vice, she said that.  It expires within 3 months of the conclusion of the trip.  No need to get snarky.  :-)

Original Post by pinklauren21:

Has anyone dealt with this new rule(law) or had a similar problem like this?

According the passport information site, it varies by country.  The only advice I could find on this is to possibly call the consulate to see if they can grant special visas for the travel period - but you indicated that your father tried that and was denied.  Maybe directly contacting the US passport service would help.

I can't find official advice that indicates you can do anything else - I'm not aware of anything that can be done in less than 12 hours. 

I hope everything works out!

If you don't want to try the overnight expedite service then you don't really have any options. This is why it's best to be prepared in advance... make sure everything is in order.

Can you change the tickets back a couple of days and get a new emergency passport issued? if this is possible, and not excessively expensive, I would recommend this.

If you can get into Italy, then it doesn't matter what Greece thinks, because there is no border control between the 2 countries, so it won't be offiically checked when you go between them (airlines etc will use it for identification though maybe). If Italy says it isn't a problem, then I wouldn't worry. You won't have to even mention it in Greece, and if you go through immigration leaving Schengen in Greece and they pick it up then, you can just act dumb.

The biggest problem is likely to be getting on the plane, Delta won't want to have to return you home if you don't get into the country, so it won't let you on the plane unless it thinks you will get through immigration.

The three month rule isn't really new, at least not as far as most countries immigration is concerned. (although it may be for delta) I had to get an expedited passport in 1997 for a similar reason when flying to indonesia.

good luck.

thanks so much for the all advice. ya i really wish my parents had been a little more prepared. were actually going on a cruise from rome to athens. Apparently Royal Caribbean isn't aware of this rule, because we arranged our entire travel itinerary, etc. with them. :/ stupid royal caribbean!! My mom just called the Greek Embassy in Atlanta where we live and the lady said it shouldn't be a problem and that most of the people swiping passports as you get off the boat into Greece are not aware of this new rule. She also said the 90 day expiration rule is enforced in Greece, but not Italy thankfully. I really hope everyone who reads this post will take this stupid new "rule" into account next time they plan an out-of-country vacation. I guess the rules for immigration and stuff like that are always changing so you have stay updated. Thanks again to all who replied! I always know I can count on calorie-count, lol!

check with royal caribbean again.  countries that have this rule just want to make sure they're not stuck with you indefinitely.  if your return travel is booked and paid for, the rules are sometimes waived.

Have you actually checked that you will get into Italy? because it's on the 3 month list.....

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/ cis_1127.html 

 

Edit: oops just noticed that you said you did in the above post, was too busy finding info