How long should a passport have left on it?

[trickydickie]

I am going to France (on the ferry) in June and my passport runs out in October.

I have tried to google how long you should have left on your passport in order to get into various countries.

The answer for European travel seems to be 3 months. In which case I am fine.

Does anyone else know or has anyone any experience of travelling to France with a limited time period left on their passport?

I did try the website for the passport office but couldn't find an answer to my question.

Thanks in advance.

We took DS to France (on the ferry) in mid March and his passport runs out this week. No-one even commented on it.

European travel - 3 months
Anywhere else - 6 months

You will have no problem going to France with a passport running out in October. I go 4/5 times a year so always one of our passports needs renewal around a holiday time and there has never been any problems.

My son's passport ran out 12th September last year and we can back on the 6th with our comment.

I took DD2 too disney Paris, her passport expired a day or two after we returned home - was not a problem!

Here from Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Entry Requirements - Passport Validity

You must hold a valid passport to enter France. For stays of up to three months your passport must be valid for the proposed duration of your stay; you do not need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this. However, it is always sensible to have a short period of extra validity on your passport in case of any unforeseen delays to your departure. You do not have to wait until your old passport expires to apply to renew it. Any time left on your old passport when you apply will be added to your new passport, up to a maximum of nine months. For passport applications in the UK, you should apply to the Identity and Passport Service. For stays of longer than three months, contact the Embassy of the country to which you are travelling.

Thank you everyone.

I had been being very chilled about it but a friend told me yesterday she thought my passport would still need 6 months on it.

FCO travel advice pages tell you the visa and passport validity requirements for every country. It's really useful. For EU, it is only the proposed length of stay.

TBH, I can't remember the last time anyone checked my passport either entering or leaving France. Obviously the box where you drive on to the ferry has a quick shufty, but not in any detail.