So, my passport expires in November and I want to go to France in September with the kids. I read that it needs to be valid for at least 6 months, but I'm not sure if that applies to EU countries or just ones outside the EU. Should I renew it now or wait?
For France and the EU in general, a passport valid until November is perfectly fine for you - there's no 6-month rule like there is for certain non-EU countries. But if you renew it now you'll avoid last-minute stress and have more free time in September instead of waiting for the police headquarters to respond. Honestly, it depends on how backed up your local police headquarters is, but I wouldn't risk leaving it to the last minute: go get it done right away so you can sleep easy.
Technically whoever says a valid passport until November is enough has a point, but I personally renewed mine in advance and I don't regret it at all 😅 Once I showed up at the airport with a document that was almost expired and check-in gave me a hard time - they didn't stop me, but the stress before takeoff was insane. If you renew it now you've got the problem sorted and you can travel worry-free, without even thinking about it. And if you still have your new passport after September, great - it'll have saved you from a ton of pointless anxiety.
Theoretically you're fine until November, but the real problem is that some airlines and travel agencies check the validity margin and sometimes they'll block you at check-in or during booking, regardless of what the law says. Renewing now takes away the risk of running into last-minute hassles in September.
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