# Passport expiration question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2017, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929 "2017-01-23T10:36:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gretchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@Gretchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gretchion)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/1 "2017-01-23T10:36:56Z")
I am a US citizen, and I’ve lived in China for almost 2 years on a work visa. My passport will expire in May, and I will go to have it renewed in February after the Spring Festival, since everything here will shut down during that time. (Yes, I should have planned to get that taken care of earlier…) I was thinking of travelling home in early March for two weeks and returning to China, but that is two months before my passport expires, and I may not have the new one by then. I’ve read that many countries won’t let you in if there are less than six months on your passport, but I wonder if my situation may be different since I’m visiting a country I am a citizen of, and then returning to a country that I have a work visa for. My visa is valid until mid-April. Does anyone know if I will have any problems? Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/2 "2017-01-23T10:58:43Z")
I read this on a UK government website, but this is of course aimed at tourists and business people: > [@](#): > > Passport validity > > Your passport should be valid for at least 6 months from the date of your visa application. If you have less than 6 months’ validity on your passport, but have a valid visa, you should be able to enter China for the duration of that visa. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/3 "2017-01-23T13:55:41Z")
Since you already have your visa, the 6-month regulation is not applicable. As for being allowed entry, that is the discretion of the immigration officer, who is not even obliged to admit you at all, in spite of a visa, at any time. You can never assume that you will not have any problems when presenting yourself or your papers to an immigration officer, who has wide latitude. It’s been more than 20 years since I’ve been to China, so I cannot speak to any current policy, but as far as I know, the 6-month provision is applicable only to the issuance of a visa, and is applied by every country, not just China. Once you have your visa, it can be used at any time during the validity of your passport. I’ve been told by other travelers that a 5-year China visa is honored, even if it is stamped in an old expired/cancelled passport. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/4 "2017-01-23T13:58:21Z")
There’s only one way to find out… and the advice that some bureaucrat in Beijing gives you may not match what the airline counter or entry customs people think. How convenient is it for you to not be in China for a few months? Plus, what other countries might you travel through on the way there or back? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/5 "2017-01-23T14:00:08Z")
You need to contact the US consulate office nearest you in China. > **[China International Travel Information](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/China.html)** > > China international travel information and Travel Advisory They should be able to help with your passport renewal. Having a passport with less than 6 months of validity remaining on it in China can result in immediate expulsion from the country. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/6 "2017-01-24T01:14:34Z")
You can renew your passport by mail. Why not just do that now before you travel. It might be worth your peace of mind. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/7 "2017-01-24T01:49:19Z")
> [@](#): > > U.S. citizens residing abroad (except those living in Canada) should renew their passports at the nearest U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate. > **[Renew my Passport by Mail](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew.html)** > > Find out how to renew your U.S. passport by mail ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/8 "2017-01-24T02:44:45Z")
Yes, getting a US passport renewal overseas used to be very quick and easy, although it might not be any more. Twenty years ago, I got one renewed in Vientiane, it was ready early the next morning. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/9 "2017-01-24T05:45:11Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Yes, getting a US passport renewal overseas used to be very quick and easy, although it might not be any more. Twenty years ago, I got one renewed in Vientiane, it was ready early the next morning. I used to get my UK passport from Ottawa; now North American production is consolidated in Washington, I supposed to reduce the number of embassies producing the complex anti-counterfeit products in use today. Presume the same applies to US passports, what with holograms, RFID, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/10 "2017-01-24T13:45:38Z")
During my five years this was a regular occurrence for Americans there. Just go to the nearest consulate or embassy and get a new passport. They’ll let you keep the old passport with your Chinese visa in it. Travel with both until you renew your visa, which will then go into your new passport. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-expiration-question/777929/11 "2017-01-25T14:24:01Z")
Maybe you can drop it off at the nearest consulate but my understanding is that it still goes to the US for the actual processing and can take weeks. That’s what I was told the first time post 9/11 my passport came up for renewal.