Passport validity rules for visas: 3 months, 6 months or more

Validity rules by destination

The table lists the rules we could confirm on official pages. Where a figure could not be confirmed, it says so: check the official page rather than relying on a figure repeated on travel blogs.

How to count the months

The wording tells you where to start counting, and it differs. Schengen states count from the day you leave: the Netherlands wants a passport valid “at least 3 months after your departure”, and France “at least 3 months after the visa ends”. Canada counts from the day you plan to travel. The UK only asks that the passport last for the whole stay.

Take a passport that expires on 10 March 2027. For a Schengen trip returning to India on 20 December 2026, three months after departure is 20 March 2027, so it falls ten days short. For Canada, a trip starting on 1 December 2026 needs validity to 1 June 2027, so it fails there too. For a UK visit ending on 20 December, it is fine.

France’s version deserves a second look. A visa can be issued for longer than your trip, especially a multiple-entry one, and the three months then run from the end of the visa. If you hope for a longer visa, leave plenty of room beyond your return date.

The 10-year rule and blank pages

Schengen states test the passport’s age as well as its expiry: it must have been issued within the last 10 years. They also want two blank pages, for the visa sticker and stamps. Japan asks for a passport “with more than two blank pages”.

Pages fill faster than people expect on a passport used for frequent Gulf or Southeast Asian trips. If you are down to your last two or three blank pages, renew before applying, particularly for a country that still puts a sticker in the passport.

Indian applicants also copy a page others do not: the EU list asks for “the last page of the passport (for Indian passports)”, the page with your address and family details, alongside the bio page and earlier Schengen visas.

When validity limits the visa you receive

Validity affects more than whether you can apply. Canada issues visitor visas “for up to 10 years or until the expiry date of either your passport or biometrics”, so a passport with eighteen months left caps the visa at eighteen months, however strong the file.

The Schengen cascade for Indian residents works the same way. After two visas obtained and lawfully used within three years, a two-year visa is possible, and the five-year visa that normally follows depends on the passport having sufficient validity remaining. If you qualify and your passport has less than five years left, renewing first can decide which visa you get.

Renew before or after the visa?

Renew before, if the timing allows. A new passport carries a new number, and a visa is tied to the passport you applied with. Canada says to “Submit the same passport you used in your application” and that “You can’t travel until the visa is placed in that passport”. Singapore no longer transfers visas to new passports.

The UK works differently now that visit visas are eVisas. Your UKVI account is linked to a passport, so after renewing you update the account with the new one before you travel. An older UK visa sticker stays valid in the old passport: GOV.UK says it “will remain valid until it expires.”

Keep old passports. Japan asks for them, the UK asks for “copies of previous passports showing evidence of travel to other countries”, Canada for “previous passports or visas used within the last 10 years”, and the EU list for earlier Schengen visas. Our passport renewal guide covers the 2026 fees and Tatkaal timelines.

Checks before you book anything

• Find the expiry date on the bio page and count from the date the rule names: departure, arrival or the end of the visa.
• Count blank visa pages, not just the pages left in the booklet.
• For Schengen, check the issue date as well as the expiry date.
• If you plan to renew, renew first, then book the appointment, insurance and reservations with the new passport’s details.
• Make the names on the flight reservation and hotel booking match the passport you will apply and travel with, letter for letter.
• Check every traveller’s passport, children’s included, not only your own.

Questions people ask