Passport Renewal

[Cambs]

I'm travelling to Orlando end of Jan'23 for 10 nights and my passport runs out in May'23. From what i've read you only need a passport to be valid for the duration of your stay in the USA unlike Europe where it's 6 months I believe.

I know if I got an Esta on my current passport it would expire in May too, but thinking with the current delays just to wait on renewing it until next year. What would people advise?

[mick]

You're absolutely correct that your passport (if issued by the UK and about 40 other nations) only has to be valid for duration of your holiday - unless you're travelling indirect via the EU then it becomes complicated.

I suppose it depends on when you plan to need your passport again after January - maybe renew it immediately when you get home.

Mick

[Mr Tom Morrow]

The key to me is what are all your plans for 2023. That would determine what I would do. So if you are going away in the Summer next year I would renew as soon as you come home in January.

Further to this as Passports have a 10 year validity I think too many people try to extract every last month out of them. A good idea to save money but not when industrial action or backlogs occur and that money saved can be money down the river.

Edit. And Mick types faster than me.

[lizzie145]

my renewal took a week in June- there is no rhyme or reason as to how some are quicker than others

[mick]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

The key to me is what are all your plans for 2023. That would determine what I would do. So if you are going away in the Summer next year I would renew as soon as you come home in January.

Further to this as Passports have a 10 year validity I think too many people try to extract every last month out of them. A good idea to save money but not when industrial action or backlogs occur and that money saved can be money down the river.

Edit. And Mick types faster than me.

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It's rare Tom but I've just had a moral dilemma.

Someone named an ex-Dibber who was a bit of a keyboard warrior - correction enormous keyboard warrior. I quoted the post and said that I remember him. Ten seconds later the post that I'd quoted had been deleted - by the mods or the poster I know not. Anyway my post remained intact but I then had a quandary. Was the poster embarrassed by naming him and deleted their post? So I deleted mine as well.

Anyway onwards and upwards talking about getting your money's worth from official documents. Do you recall those Dibbers a few years ago who did their ESTAs on the way to the airport on 1st May 2020 so that they would be valid for a holiday on 30th April 2022?

Mick

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by mick

It's rare Tom but I've just had a moral dilemma.

Someone named an ex-Dibber who was a bit of a keyboard warrior - correction enormous keyboard warrior. I quoted the post and said that I remember him. Ten seconds later the post that I'd quoted had been deleted - by the mods or the poster I know not. Anyway my post remained intact but I then had a quandary. Was the poster embarrassed by naming him and deleted their post? So I deleted mine as well.

Anyway onwards and upwards talking about getting your money's worth from official documents. Do you recall those Dibbers a few years ago who did their ESTAs on the way to the airport on 1st May 2020 so that they would be valid for a holiday on 30th April 2022?

Mick

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Mick. No I don’t remember that ESTA thread sorry. That was really cutting things tight. Not for you or me I suspect.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

Mick. No I don’t remember that ESTA thread sorry. That was really cutting things tight. Not for you or me I suspect.

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Probably one from a handful of Dibbers who say "I've had an ESTA before I'm 100% certain to get another"

Still that's a subject for a different thread. Sorry OP for taking you off topic. After 18 years on here it's what I occasionally do.

Mick

[fl-veteran]

Originally Posted by mick

Probably one from a handful of Dibbers who say "I've had an ESTA before I'm 100% certain to get another"

Still that's a subject for a different thread. Sorry OP for taking you off topic. After 18 years on here it's what I occasionally do.

Mick

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Ouch. Even if they were guaranteed to get one (and they weren't), that's being one internet outage away from a ruined holiday in order to save a few $...

OP, as stated you can go using your current passport but if you have further trips planned reasonably close then it might be worth just getting it renewed for the sake of saving you the cost of a few months. A passport only costs about 63p per month so the potential savings aren't exactly massive.

I've been on a passport that had less than 6 months left without significant issues(*) but only because it was a last minute trip and I was worried about getting a new one through in time.

*However, I would caution you that they don't always know the rules properly at the check-in desk. When I checked in they said I couldn't travel due to not having 6 months left but luckily I had emailed the airline to confirm and they let me through once I showed them a copy of the email I had taken with me.

[mick]

Originally Posted by fl-veteran

*However, I would caution you that they don't always know the rules properly at the check-in desk. When I checked in they said I couldn't travel due to not having 6 months left but luckily I had emailed the airline to confirm and they let me through once I showed them a copy of the email I had taken with me.

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I had my wrist slapped on here a couple of weeks ago when I suggested that a BA check-in agent who told a Dibber that they needed 6 month's grace should have been summarily sacked. I was accused of being insensitive and lack of training was to be blamed. Maybe so I said but I have read of a dozen similar stories in my 18 years on here. Exactly the same as lazy travel agents who say you need the aforesaid grace. I know the rules are different nation by nation but the TA should really say "you may need 6 month's grace - please check"

I've suggested that Dibbers print this out and insist on seeing a supervisor if challenged

cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...20220316.pd f

Mick

[Mary A]

Originally Posted by lizzie145

my renewal took a week in June- there is no rhyme or reason as to how some are quicker than others

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DS's renewal only took a week too. This was in July