A few years ago, a friend of mine planned with his bride-to-be, for the better part of a year, their destination wedding at a tropical paradise resort in Panama. As the plans came to fruition and the soon to be married couple arrived at Pearson International Airport in Toronto with 30 of their closest friends and family members, an unforeseen problem occurred. Actually, nightmare would be the optimum word for their experience.

At 2:00 AM, having had little sleep over the past few days, my friend, the groom-to-be, was informed by the airline check-in that his passport, although valid, did not meet Panama’s entry requirements. To enter the country of Panama, your passport must be valid for a minimum 90 days from the date of entry into that country. My friend’s passport expired in 86 days.

Left behind to scramble with getting an emergency passport renewal and alternate flight arrangements, my friend couldn’t help but wonder why this information hadn’t been presented to him by his travel agent. He couldn’t help but wonder why the issue of when a valid passport really isn’t a valid passport had not been publicized before.

Of the top ten countries in the world that Canadians visit (as of 2007), all but one requires a valid passport for entry. Several of these countries have specific requirements regarding the expiry dates of those passports.

The United Kingdom, Germany, United States of America and Mexico require that visitors have a passport that will be valid for the duration of their stay. With regards to Canadian visitors, the USA and Mexico seem to change entry requirements on a whim lately so make sure you check on this information before planning a visit.

China has the toughest passport requirements of the top ten countries. The passport of visitors must be valid beyond six months from the expected departure from that country. France and Italy require that a passport must expire no less than three months from the expected departure from those countries. Cuba only has a one month limit and entering Dominican Republic technically does not require a valid passport.

Other frequently visited countries have varying requirements. Russia and Argentina are the same as China with expiry no less than six months from departure from their country. As mentioned, Panama is three months from the date of arrival. Japan is similar to the U.K. and Germany and need only be valid for the expected duration of the stay. When entering into Australia, your passport must only be valid upon entering the country. Jamaica has no passport requirements at all.

This, of course, is not a definite guide by any means. When travelling anywhere in the world, it is the travellers responsibility to make sure all entry requirements are researched and met. Requirements can change without warning as governments and social climate can quickly change around the world.

My friend was able to get an express renewal on his passport and get on an alternate flight the same day, arriving at the resort in Panama not long after the rest of the group. My friend is happily married and writes articles on Factoidz – sometimes on the requirements of passport expiry dates...