How much time do you have to have on your passport to get back INTO the country?

collington

My kids have dual nationality (USA/UK).  We're visiting America this summer and we always have to enter America on their American passports.  My son's British passport will expire a few weeks after we return from our trip - so it will still be valid when we come back through immigration control, but not by much.  What I can't find is any documentation on how much time you need to have on your passport in order to get BACK into the country.  I presume as long as you have even one day it's fine since you're returning to your home country, but I would feel much better knowing for certain.  (I'd rather not try and renew his passport right now if I don't need to, given all the problems they're having!)  Thank you for your help!

[Deleted User]

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements

Passport validity

If you are visiting the USA your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay. You don’t need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this.

Check with your travel provider to make sure your passport and other travel documents meet their requirements.

Undervalued

collington said:

My kids have dual nationality (USA/UK).  We're visiting America this summer and we always have to enter America on their American passports.  My son's British passport will expire a few weeks after we return from our trip - so it will still be valid when we come back through immigration control, but not by much.  What I can't find is any documentation on how much time you need to have on your passport in order to get BACK into the country.  I presume as long as you have even one day it's fine since you're returning to your home country, but I would feel much better knowing for certain.  (I'd rather not try and renew his passport right now if I don't need to, given all the problems they're having!)  Thank you for your help!

I would assume so, as far as your home country is concerned but is that the only consideration?

Can an airline not insist on your passport being valid for longer, as they may incur liabilities if the flight is delayed / diverted etc?

As far as I know they can have terms insisting on whatever period of validity they like as a condition of carriage.

Also, what would happen if he was ill and unable to travel?

unforeseen

Which passport is their travel booked with? If its the UK passport then they probably aren't going to fly.

onashoestring

If you have a British passport that hasn’t expired - you can enter the U.K. with it . 

eDicky

onashoestring said:

If you have a British passport that hasn’t expired - you can enter the U.K. with it . 

This is correct, how could it possibly be otherwise? A requirement for a period of validity when entering a country not as a visitor but of which you are a citizen and resident..??

Undervalued

onashoestring said:

If you have a British passport that hasn’t expired - you can enter the U.K. with it . 

Yes, that is not in dispute, but it is not the only consideration.

It doesn't mean that an airline can't have conditions of carriage that require X weeks or months of validity to use their service. Taken to the extreme, suppose they were carrying a passenger on a flight due to arrive late evening who had a passport that expired at midnight. The flight is a few hours late, what happens then? Where do you draw the line?

onashoestring

Undervalued said:

onashoestring said:

If you have a British passport that hasn’t expired - you can enter the U.K. with it . 

Yes, that is not in dispute, but it is not the only consideration.

It doesn't mean that an airline can't have conditions of carriage that require X weeks or months of validity to use their service. Taken to the extreme, suppose they were carrying a passenger on a flight due to arrive late evening who had a passport that expired at midnight. The flight is a few hours late, what happens then? Where do you draw the line?

I am not aware of an airline that requires travellers to U.K. with a British passport to have additional days/ weeks / months validity at the time of travel . Which specific airline do you have in mind ?  

Whilst not a requirement it makes sense to travel whilst you have some additional time beyond your return date in case you are unexpectedly delayed . However  if you found yourself stuck abroad in this situation you would be able to apply for an emergency travel document to travel back to U.K.  

OP’s son’s British passport expires a few weeks after their return trip so not an issue.

tightauldgit

I think technically you don't even need a passport to enter the UK if you are a UK citizen although you might well be detained by immigration while they investigate things. Of course you probably wouldn't be allowed to board a plane without a valid passport in the first place. 

If your UK passport is valid then you should have no problem boarding and entering the UK.