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Hi, I (finally) got my travel documents today for 2/2-2/9 in Negril from the US. In the documents there is mention of a "6 month rule" in which a passport needs to be valid for 6 months from your travel dates or they won't let you in. I'm freaking out. My passport expires on 5/13/17. Does anyone know if Jamaica indeed goes by this 6 month rule? Help!
I have heard that they do and it would suck to get there and be turned away. You can expadite a passport in like a week it costs a little more but it would be well worth not getting your trip ruined
Jamaica automatically gives you 90 days which would be 5/10. With only 3 days left, I would heed takin's advice and expedite a new PP.
Thank you for your replies. Still confused, I answered my own question by calling the Jamaican Embassy in Washington, DC 202-452-0660, and was told there is no 6 month rule for Jamaica and advised to "relax and enjoy the sunshine!". US passports only need to be valid up to the date of departure from Jamaica. The same information can be found on the embassyofjamaica.org website.
Be sure to check with your airline...
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/count...ty-100788.html
I agree totally with Rob. The only thing worse than being turned away in Jamaica is being denied the opportunity to even get there. Good luck!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob
JaBinky - I will confuse you even more with this bit of info from these website. They state Jamaica DOES have a 6 month rule.
http://www.uspassporthelpguide.com/s...validity-rule/.
http://lifehacker.com/these-countrie...por-1782577451
A possible source of all the confusion is info from US Custom and Border Patrol updated on 12/5/16
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...%2012-5-16.pdf
"Visitors traveling TO the United States are required to be in possession of passports that are valid for six months beyond the period of their intended stay in the United States. Citizens of the countries listed below are exempt the six-month rule and need only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay." Jamaica IS on that list.
As Rob suggested contact your airline to see what THEIR policies are. They are the ones who will ultimately determine if you get to Jamaica.
Thank you, people. I've just checked with Delta airline and was promised I'm good to go. Whew, what a relief! I express gratitude to this message board which has again proven to be an irreplaceable source of support and information. Long live the Negril.com message forum. All travel agencies should list this forum as an information source for their customers headed to Negril.
but... just in case... u want to stay...why not get a new one now if you have time
Funny story- A few years ago, my wife, son, daughter and I were sitting in the departure terminal in Philly waiting to board when my 20-something son informed us that his passport had expired. He was under 16 when he got his first one so it was only good for 5 years and the rest of ours were good for 10 years so we didn't pick up on it until it was a little too late. We decided to board the plane anyway and hope for the best. When we got to immigration, the agent flipped through the pages 3 times before looking up and telling us that the passport had expired. She explained that there was a 6 month grace period but that had also come and gone. I asked if that would be a problem. Having been to Jamaica a few times, I was hoping for the traditional answer to all questions asked of a Jamaican, "no problem, mon" but that didn't quite happen. We were detained for about 2 hours while they waited for the airline to send them a letter saying that they would take responsibility and agree to fly him back out of there at the end of the trip. It took about 5 Red Stripes to get my heart rate down.....
Just get the passport. You are risking not spending 200 some bucks to lose out on 1000s on your vacation. Plus the peace of mind.
I had my passport in 2 days, when I used a rush service.
I had no problem when I came in last year with passports expiring within 30 days. I used the "Club Mobay" arrival service - they advised me there would be no problem and of course there was no problem. Have a great time!
Just to follow up on this thread I did start, after all--your US passport only needs to be be good for the full length of your stay in Jamaica. Though it was wise to ask, I never did need to worry. As the woman at the US Jamaican Embassy advised, "Just go and relax and enjoy the sunshine!" Done, and thank you again, sweet Jamaica!
Thanks for the follow up! We will make note of this post for future inquiries!
You don't need to make special note of my post--it's here and available to anyone. The important thing is I didn't go by replies which would have had me worried to the point of spending hundreds of dollars completely unnecessarily.
Which is why we will make a note (reminder) here at Negril.com so the next time this is asked we can reference this thread and give people firsthand information!
Thanks!
you need a new Passport and you have plenty of time to get one...so don't be an idiot and not get one.......lol
sent off my renewal US Passport this past November and got it back in 2 weeks time......dem fast these days
Cool Runnings, Marko
oooooookkkkay.