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Long gone are the days when ensuring your passport in the bag was the main concern ahead of driving to the airport to catch that international flight:
In 2025, travel rules are either being enforced more strictly or tightening significantly, and before you ask, no, it’s got nothing to do with lab-originated pathogens.
Let’s leave that back in 2020-2021.
On the other hand, not many Americans may not know that presenting a valid passport at the border when landing in a foreign country is oftentimes not enough to grant you access to certain countries and territories.
In fact, depending on how you’ve handled your passport lately and what stamps have been added to it, you could be denied entry altogether.
So here are 5 important things you must check in your travel document before your next trip if you’re keen on avoiding being placed on a repatriation flight:
Never Get Souvenir Stamps
We get it, they’re cute collectibles, and they serve as a reminder of milestones we’ve reached in our travels, such as climbing Machu Picchu, the remote Incan highland town in Peru, or visiting the continent of Antarctica that isn’t claimed by any sovereign state.
In reality, however, these souvenir stamps that are regularly issued by tourism offices and have no practical validity can render your passport completely invalid.
As the U.S. State Department notes, getting your passport stamped in a celebratory way can be considered ‘damage’ to the document, as only border officers and other authorized officials of the U.S. and foreign countries can place visas or make notations or additions.
This is even stated on page five of all U.S. passports, something you can check for yourself if you’ve got yours handy.
Different countries enforce this rule with varying degrees of severity: for instance, there have been reports of travelers going around the globe with their souvenir stamps unnoticed, as well as cases where they were denied boarding and made to get a new passport.
To be on the safer side, it is best to just steer clear of them.
Handle Your Passport With Maximum Care
Passports are not merely booklets that can be twisted, folded, or handled with little to no care: the small gold camera logo at the bottom of the cover indicates there is a biometric chip inside, and it’s more susceptible to damage than you might think.
That’s where all your information is stored, and it’s how border agents will typically verify your identity and the authenticity of your document, so once that chip gets defective, the passport itself could be useless.
Additionally, any tears or imperfections on the cover or information page, however minor, could result in you getting repatriated––in other words, sent back home flying.
That’s the case in Bali, a popular tropical getaway for Americans, where border guards might refuse entry to newcomers unless their passport is ‘immaculate‘––in their own words, ‘normal wear and tear’, and even ‘minor tears or rips to the pages’ can be perceived as damage.
Check You Have Enough Months Left Of Validity
A common misconception among first-time travelers is that, as long as their passport will remain valid between the date of departure, and the date of return, they are good to go.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Traveling to Europe, authorities will expect you to present a travel document that’s not only yet to expire but that is valid for an additional 6 months following the date of entry.
This means that if you have a single month left of validity, and you plan on going to Italy for a week and back, chances are the airline itself won’t authorize your boarding, or if you do get an exception, you might get turned away at the border landing in the Old Continent.
Most countries worldwide enforce the 6-month rule, with rare exceptions like Mexico (the passport must be valid for the intended length of stay), or Chile (must expire after you leave the country, with no specific period length set), so it’s worth verifying entry rules at your destination in advance.
Make Sure You Have Enough Blank Pages!
This one’s for our fellow frequent travelers out there:
On top of handling your document with care and checking you have enough months left of validity on it, you should ensure there are enough blank pages for stamps.
Once your passport gets filled up, you may be refused entry on the grounds of not having available space for a stamp to be placed, even if the document is only expiring months or even years down the line.
Collecting stamps doesn’t seem all that fun now, does it?
In general, you should ensure you have at least one blank page left before traveling to allow for plenty of room, and that is if you’re only visiting one country.
That being said, in some instances, the requirement is even more restrictive, with some asking for 2, 3, or a whopping 6 blank pages––that would be Namibia for you, so if the offbeat African country is on your bucket list, now you know.
Get That Travel Authorization Before Flying
Last but certainly not least, entry rules are changing for a host of different destinations to which Americans have routinely been allowed to travel without previous restrictions.
As of January, they can no longer board flights to the United Kingdom without applying for the UK ETA (or Electronic Travel Authorization) in advance––read more here.
Soon enough, a similar requirement will be enforced by the European Union, encompassing much of mainland Europe: unless they are pre-screened before boarding and get a digital entry permit, Americans will no longer be able to board Europe-bound flights.
Luckily, the measure isn’t being enforced as of right now, though it’s coming soon enough.
It’s a complex world to navigate, and entry requirements and visa rules seem to be changing by the minute, so don’t forget to double-check them prior to booking that trip.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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