Even smart travelers make these nine passport mistakes

Smart travelers make these nine passport mistakes

People who travel internationally are generally among the most discerning travelers. But they can still make mistakes – and some of the most common mistakes involve passports.

As you resume international travel, make sure you avoid these nine passport mistakes:

1. Canada and Mexico are actually foreign countries – you need a passport.

In working for decades in the travel industry, my clients rarely left their passports at home when traveling to Europe, Africa, Asia, etc., but I have heard of people who make this passport mistake and forget them when they are crossing the border into Canada or Mexico.

To be fair, although the requirements have been in place for a decade now, travel to Canada and Mexico did not require a passport. And this is not open for discussion. One CEO client, who shall remain anonymous, realized that he had left his passport at home on the day he planned to go to the airport for a Canadian ski trip. He decided that he could make his point through this. He was wrong. But Air Canada booked him in for free the next morning.

Also Read: Passport – Renewal by Global Entry, CBP Kiosk, App, and Online

2. Children’s passports only last for five years – not ten years.

I worked with a family on an Alaska cruise who told me they checked, and all their passports were valid. The father checked his passports, remembering that the family had received them all at the same time more than five years ago.

Luckily, his wife caught one of the common passport mistakes while packing a week ago. However, despite spending a day in downtown Los Angeles and the hefty fees, they were able to get their son a new passport in time for the cruise.

3. Keep the passport in a regular place in the house.

If travelers for any reason do not return their passports to the same drawer every time they take them out they are committing a passport mistake. A friend told me the story of his well-traveled brother who couldn’t find his passport anywhere. “He took out his luggage, his bag, his coat, everything. He had to get a new passport. Once he got the new passport, he went to his printer to make a copy of it… and he found his old passport inside!”

4. Don’t forget your passport in the hotel room safe.

Even if you’re sure you won’t be in a last-minute rush, it’s still not a bad idea to set some kind of reminder on your phone, like an alarm, to make sure you get through. with Your passport – and anything else you have in the safe.

Replace “safe” with any “safe” place where you can keep your passport in the hotel room. My husband once took out his passport from his bag so he could easily get it for his morning flight. And he realized in the cab that he was still in the bureau. (Fortunately, the hotel was able to send another cab with the passports.)

5. Running out of pages.

Some countries require blank pages to be stamped on the entry visa. South Africa needs two blank pages. Duration. It is no longer possible to add extra pages to a passport, so if you are running low on money, you may need to get a new passport, even if your passport is still valid. Yes, it is time consuming and expensive when you need more pages. And, no, the government doesn’t care.

6. Some countries insist that the passport must be valid for three to six months for entry.

Most of Western Europe, including England, has a “six months” rule. And yes, it might be stupid if a country won’t let you in with a “valid” passport, but rules are rules. A travel agent in our office came across it when she stopped in London for a night on her way to Israel. Even though she had a ticket showing that she would be in England for less than 24 hours, British Airways refused her boarding. Be sure to check out the State Department International Travel pages on their website.

7. Check visa requirements.

Americans have it relatively easy when traveling abroad. However, many of those rules will soon change. But our stricter policies for entry to the US mean that more countries are adding a “reciprocity fee”, which is a tax on visas. Some require advance payment. Many countries still require a visa, and it can take a week or more to obtain one.

8. Don’t keep track of time.

We’ve all had the experience of finding something in a cupboard that expired or was forgotten years ago, or suddenly realizing it’s been a decade since you’ve seen a friend. Even if your passport hasn’t expired for years, it’s not a bad idea to double-check from time to time. This last mistake, curiously, is the one I see most often, and they usually follow up by saying, “I thought I just renewed my passport a few years ago.”

9. Get (or renew) PreCheck and Global Entry.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that it will refer all travelers who do not present an acceptable form of ID and still wish to opt in to pay a $45 fee to use TSA ConfirmID, a modern alternative identity verification system to establish identity at security checkpoints, beginning February 1, 2026.

Travelers will be able to pay $45 to use TSA ConfirmID for a 10-day travel period. TSA urges travelers who do not have a REAL ID to make an appointment at their local DMV to update their ID as soon as possible.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

• Origin ID-Compliant driver’s license or other state photo identification issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)
  • If you’re not sure whether your ID corresponds to a REAL ID, check with your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
  • A temporary driver’s license is not an acceptable form of identification.
• State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
• US passport
• US passport card
• DHS Trusted Traveler Card (Global Entry, NEXUS, Sentry, FAST)
• US Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
• permanent resident Card
• border crossing card
• An acceptable photo ID issued by federally recognized Tribal Nations/Indian Tribes, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETC)
• HSPD-12 PIV Card
• Passport issued by foreign government
• Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• US Merchant Mariner Credential
• Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC)

All passengers without acceptable ID, including those presenting a non-REAL ID-compliant state driver’s license or ID, will be referred to the optional TSA ConfirmID process for identity verification at TSA check-in and prior to entering the security line. This process will vary from airport to airport, and TSA is proactively working with private industry to provide online payment options prior to arrival at the airport.

Many Americans will travel abroad without making any of the mistakes above, but it always helps to be cautious. IATA offers a complex passport/visa/health tool that provides travelers with the exact entry requirements for most countries. For international travel, these passport facts will come in handy when planning and traveling.

After all, travel horror stories are always more interesting when they happen to someone else.

Also read:
How passport rules here and abroad can end your trip before it even starts