![Europe's passport requirements for USPicture](/uploads/4/9/8/0/49807281/893898_orig.jpg)
Europe
Until quite recently, both Italy and France required that US citizens have a passport valid for at least three months past the planned departure from Europe. This has changed, and both France and Italy now require that travelers have a passport valid for at least six months past the end of their trip. Quite a few travelers have learned about this the hard way, when they are not allowed to board their flight to Italy or France!
Although some European countries still allow US citizens to enter with less than six months passport validity - such as Germany and the Netherlands, which ask for only three months validity – we highly recommend that all travelers to Europe make sure their passport will be valid for at least six months beyond their return to the United States. The majority of European countries also share a common visa regime, known as the Schengen scheme. US citizens are allowed to stay for up to three months without a visa in the countries that make up the Schengen area. All Schengen nations require that travelers have at least three months of passport validity, but others require six months validity. With Italy and France joining the list of nations that require at least six months validity, it seems likely that more European countries will also start to require a longer passport validity.