passport expiration 6 months extra required for canada?

[Jenny Mauger]

Has anyone crossed into Canada on a passport that had <3 months left before it expired? I know some countries require you to have 6 months of passport validity to enter (I guess to confirm you'll be able to leave/go back to USA?). I don't have 6 months extra on my kids' passports for our Alaska cruise this summer. I can't find anything online to assure me this is ok (or not). Any personal experience?

Thanks,
Jenny

 

[mab2012]

Has anyone crossed into Canada on a passport that had <3 months left before it expired? I know some countries require you to have 6 months of passport validity to enter (I guess to confirm you'll be able to leave/go back to USA?). I don't have 6 months extra on my kids' passports for our Alaska cruise this summer. I can't find anything online to assure me this is ok (or not). Any personal experience?

Thanks,
Jenny

Pretty certain you're fine as long as your passport is valid at the time you enter: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/passport-travel-document.html

To be on the safe side, I'd probably make sure my passport was going to be valid for at least a few weeks after my intended return date, but it looks like the Canadian government doesn't actually require that for entry.

ETA: US State Department advice also says your passport only needs to be "valid at time of entry": https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html

 

[tvguy]

It's a gamble. The International practice is you have to have 6 months left on your Passport. The reason being, a Passport allows you into most nations for, drum roll, 6 months.

 

[otten]

Are you a US citizen? In my experience anyway Canada/US do not apply the 6 month rule to each other's citizens.

 

[lanejudy]

The 6-month recommendation isn't an issue between US/Canada for US or Canadian citizens. In the past I've crossed the Canadian border by land several times in that window.