Hi,
I just had a really bad experience leaving for Thailand with Etihad Airways, along with my partner and her 11-year-old son. We were denied boarding because the child’s passport was invalid (by about 3 days), as it’s indeed required to have 6 months of validity. But come on—just 3 days over! On top of that, we were able to check in online for our round-trip flight (just the flights, no extras), entered our passport numbers and expiry dates, and even had to check in online again 30 hours before departure, where we got our boarding passes without any issues. How is it possible that no one called, warned, or even blocked us online? Instead, they waited to tell us at the airport during baggage check-in. I’ve asked the airline for a full refund of our expenses—do I have any chance? Thanks for your help
First of all, my deepest sympathy for this misadventure.
When this happens, and it’s clear at the airport that it’ll be a problem, you should check how to keep, change, or postpone the ticket—and how much it’ll cost. Maybe it’s worth it.
For example, your tickets might have been changeable or extendable for a few months at a cost of 50 or 150 € per person.
If that’s not an option, unfortunately, the only thing left is to claim the airport taxes back.
That said, since other airlines wouldn’t have blocked you over such a technicality—I assume all three of you had return tickets within the required timeframe, well before your passports expired—you’re still justified in boycotting this airline commercially, spreading the word as much as possible, and warning others about this practice.
Unless they offer you a full refund as a goodwill gesture.
For the benefit of other travelers, you should also name the departure airport, since that’s where this decision was made.
I'm really sorry, I hadn't seen any testimony like this before.
It's essential to pay close attention to certain things when traveling and crossing borders because it's no joke when it comes to that.
Always make sure your passport's validity extends at least 6 months beyond the last day of your trip, think about any necessary vaccines, have an international driver's permit if you plan to drive, get solid travel insurance and read the policy carefully, and make financial arrangements in case of minor or major setbacks. Also, don’t forget prescriptions for any medications you might need.
I hope everything works out favorably—keep us posted!
« Tout le monde s'interroge sur comment laisser une meilleure planète à nos enfants, mais on devrait plutôt penser à laisser de meilleurs enfants pour notre planète. » Clint Eastwood
It’s unfortunate for you, but no airline would have let you board.
Yes, yes...
There are plenty of frequent testimonies from passengers who were allowed to board as long as their return ticket was well within the time frame, despite their passport not having 6 months of validity.
I requested a full refund for the on-site rental, a week’s parking, and the Uber to get to the airport. This whole situation cost me a lot of money. It’s not okay that they validated my online boarding passes with the dates shown on the documents! Seriously, a day that was supposed to be happy turned into a nightmare
I’m sorry for you, but it’s not just this airline that enforces this requirement—it comes from the destination country, which in your case is Thailand. Some friends had the same hassle with another airline for Indonesia. I agree with you: there should be an alert during online check-in.
Thanks for sharing your experience! 🙂
Now the question is whether it's disputable and can be challenged with the airline, because I’m basically just asking for a credit so I can rebook this trip.
😕
Hi,
Was it the airline’s own ground staff handling check-in, or ADP staff?
If it was ADP staff—who usually apply the destination country’s rules to the letter—that would make it even less likely the airline would offer any goodwill compensation.
Watch out for bad advice—the airline isn’t at fault, as they all follow the same regulations on this.
It’s a tough situation for you, but it’s just the enforcement of the regulations of the country you were supposed to enter. You should know that if you don’t meet the required conditions and are turned away by Thai police upon arrival, the airline will have to cover the costs (hotel and return ticket), so the airline checks your passport’s validity at check-in or boarding.
There have already been stories like this on the forum, including one about a family where one of the children’s passports didn’t meet the requirements and couldn’t enter Thailand, even though the airline had mistakenly let them board. I think the mother and child were stuck in the transit zone in Bangkok for several days, at the airline’s expense, while waiting for paperwork. But no airline will stop you from buying a ticket with an invalid passport, since you might have a passport application in progress and could be in compliance by the time of departure.
Unfortunately, your misadventure will help other travelers stay vigilant about the requirements of the countries they’re visiting. Personally, I’m extra careful now that I’ve heard about these boarding refusals or arrivals being turned away, especially when I’m traveling with friends... Before knowing about these kinds of situations, I could’ve been caught out too!
It’s a sad story for you, but it’s just the application of the regulations of the country that was supposed to welcome you being followed.
The airline has some leeway to assess the situation.
The idea that travelers in a couple with a child would request visa extensions—and thus need those six months—when they clearly have a return ticket is reasonably unlikely.
The easy solution is indeed to take no risks; legally irreproachable, but commercially questionable.
It’s the airline that must bear the responsibility for this decision. They have a ground agent at the destination who they can call, and who will know in advance if the police are likely to refuse the passenger, because they see the case every day and there are established practices, even if they’re not formalized.
But in reality, the passenger can’t legally obtain any compensation. They can boycott the airline in the future—it won’t help, but it’s comforting.
The issue has nothing to do with visas—it’s about the passport’s validity period, which must be valid for 6 months after the entry date into Thailand. The same rule applies to Australia, Vietnam, and many others... Each country sets its own conditions, and immigration officers at arrival are never cooperative!
The issue has nothing to do with visas; it's about the passport's validity period, which must be valid for 6 months after the date of entry into Thailand.
Yes, of course.
This timeframe isn’t arbitrary—it aligns with the maximum possible extension for tourist visas. Technically, the passport is valid until its expiration date.
But airlines take precautions, at travelers' expense, over passports that border authorities "might" reject for this reason.
I’m not trying to convince anyone—everyone can check on the website of the Thai Embassy in France that your passport must be valid for 6 months after your arrival date in Thailand. I just want to help other travelers avoid unnecessary risks.
Thai authorities, like many others, are still quite strict about respecting these dates, including—if I recall correctly—for visa renewals.
Let’s assume you need to check the restrictions of the countries you’re visiting, as they may differ from ours. It’s quick to do these days with a little online research.
Of course, once you’re aware of this rule, it seems absurd. On the other hand, a 10-year validity for a passport isn’t so bad.
« Tout le monde s'interroge sur comment laisser une meilleure planète à nos enfants, mais on devrait plutôt penser à laisser de meilleurs enfants pour notre planète. » Clint Eastwood
It’s unfortunate, but you’re responsible for checking the validity of your travel documents and the entry requirements for your destination country. Thailand would most likely have turned you away—in any case, there was a risk—and the airline would have been obligated to fly you back to France at their own expense since they’re responsible for your arrival. This has happened to quite a few people, unfortunately, and you won’t be the last.
The airline isn’t at fault since they’re not responsible for your travel documents, and they’ll only refund certain taxes on your tickets unless your tickets are changeable or refundable. Even if you registered on their site, that’s just for information—verification always happens at the airport.
Hi,
During check-in at the airport, the system instantly queries Thailand’s immigration server (as many countries do) to verify there’s no active ban, everything’s in order, and it returns a message "OK TO FLY" on the screen.
Since December 1, 2015, Thai immigration (like other countries) requires that the APPS: Advanced Passenger Processing Service be sent to them before passengers arrive.
The APPS allows Thai authorities to access information such as whether a passenger is on a blacklist or prohibited from entering or leaving a country, and the airline (in Europe, for example) receives this information even before boarding, thus avoiding costly repatriation.
Here’s a recent example of a "quality tourist" with an amusing past:
"On Tuesday, he tried to board a Thai Airways flight from Zurich to Laos, with a layover in Bangkok. However, the airline refused to let him board, stating that he was blacklisted by Thai immigration."
"Mardi, il a tenté d'embarquer à bord d'un vol Thai Airways de Zurich au Laos, avec un transit à Bangkok.
Cependant, la compagnie aérienne a refusé de le laisser monter à bord, citant qu'il était sur la liste noire de l'immigration thaïlandaise."
Yes, of course, but this is a different topic, unrelated to the passport's expiration date.
Besides, the 6-month validity rule isn't universal, and quite often some advice websites or airlines state it without any basis.
Some countries require only 3 months, and many others just need the document to be valid for the duration of the stay.
Hello,
.... We were denied boarding because the child's passport was invalid (about 3 days short) since it's indeed required to have 6 months of validity. .....
Sorry to hear about your misadventure and financial loss. These situations unfortunately happen often at airports. I remember a family who had already gone through boarding, and airline staff came to tell them in the boarding lounge that they couldn't leave for New York because their 15-year-old daughter didn't have a valid passport... First trip, tears on the spot...
I don't think you'll be entitled to anything.
By "about 3 days," I understand that the child's passport expiration date was 3 days less than the required 6 months of validity at the time of boarding?
Ils ne savaient pas que c'était impossible, alors ils l'ont fait.
You're being quite mysterious; no, I don't see what you mean.
« Tout le monde s'interroge sur comment laisser une meilleure planète à nos enfants, mais on devrait plutôt penser à laisser de meilleurs enfants pour notre planète. » Clint Eastwood
Hi,
for example, Vietnam with visa exemption requires passport validity of 6 months, but if you have an e-visa and proof of exit, the passport only needs to be valid for 1 month after the end of your stay.
Website: https://www.action-visas.com/visa/Vietnam-E-VISA
"Since August 15, 2023, French citizens, along with those from 12 other countries, are visa-exempt for 45 days (44 nights).
What to do if your passport expires in less than 6 months?
You won’t be eligible for visa exemption if your passport isn’t valid for 6 months upon entry to Vietnam. In that case, apply for an e-visa online: the required passport validity for a Vietnam e-visa is only 1 month after the end of your stay."
I’d read this on the Vietnamese Embassy’s website and on this forum, where a Vietnamese agency gave this advice to a member who had the same issue.
Eric
Well, those folks were lucky... because it's often when arriving in Thailand that problems can occur. Several people have paid the price, and the faulty airline has to pay 12,000 € to repatriate denied passengers. And that’s the case with most airlines.
We handle disputes on a volunteer basis and get a lot of cases in our inbox about this...
So unfortunately, people really need to check their passport BEFORE booking a flight ticket, especially if it’s less than 3 months before departure. In those cases, it can be a bit tight to get a new passport depending on the region...
« Tout le monde s'interroge sur comment laisser une meilleure planète à nos enfants, mais on devrait plutôt penser à laisser de meilleurs enfants pour notre planète. » Clint Eastwood
I know everything you're saying about the airline fine and all that.
Still, there’s some room for discretion—minor traveling, accompanied, return flight, only three days missing.
Of course, I agree with you, it’s best to avoid it and be careful.
Voila, je me rends en Thaïlande entre septembre et octobre soit du 08/09 (arrivée à Bangkok) au 08/10 (départ de Bangkok), soit 31 jours sur place. L'exemption…
Je fais appel à vous pour une petite question de logistique administrative!!! voila, je pars pour un petit periple de 2 mois à travers la thailande, le…
J'ai vraiment fait le tour des posts et j'ai pas vraiment trouvé de réponse à ma question: si j'achète un aller simple pour bangkok peut-on me refuser…
J'ai une question, peut être bête mais elle me trotte dans la tête avant mon départ. Donc je pars avec la compagnie Qatar pour Bangkok et je reste sur place 31…
Petite surprise ce matin a l'ambassade de Thaïlande en découvrant que les demandes de visa sont devenues un bordel de paperasse pas possible. Avec notamment…
Hi there,
I’m heading to Senegal in January for a month and was wondering if I just need my French driver’s license or if I should get an international permit?
Thanks!
JL
Hi,
I’m bringing Seresta, an anxiolytic (tranquilizer) from the benzodiazepine family,
to help me sleep.
I’ll have the prescription with me.
Will this be a problem at customs, and do I need to declare it?
Same question for antibiotics?
Thanks a bunch!
I’m heading to Laos next spring, but I have a question about the Thai arrival/departure form. I’ll be flying PAR-BKK, then taking the train to Laos (so exiting Thailand), and later re-entering Thailand by train to catch my return flight. Do I need to fill out two forms in this case?
Hi there,
I have a 9-seater passenger vehicle that I use for my business in Paris, transporting people.
I’m planning to go to Algeria with my family.
The vehicle registration lists my company as the owner.
Can I get a TPD (Temporary Admission Document)?
Will I need a KBis extract or a power of attorney?!?
Thanks for your help.
Worst case, I can add my personal name as a co-owner on the registration, but that would be a real shame!
Hi,
I’m writing to ask for some info—I’ve heard that you **must** have travel insurance to land in Zanzibar.
What’s the process, and which insurance should I get?
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Best,
Seb
Hi there,
I’m a French citizen living in Switzerland, and I set up an RV LLC in Montana, USA. Through that, I was able to register 3 vehicles (an RV, a Jeep, and a Harley) with Montana plates.
I’d like to spend 3 months in Mexico, but it seems complicated—maybe even impossible—to cross the border from the US with all 3 vehicles.
Can anyone give me some advice?
Hi, are there any travelers who’ve recently crossed the border between Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan) and Beineu in Kazakhstan?
It was closed for a while.
Thanks for any info!
I bought a one-way flight (Ryanair) and a return flight (EasyJet) to spend a week in Morocco in April.
My passport expires 3 weeks after the return date.
Some websites say the passport must be valid for 3 months at the time of entry.
However, it will still be valid both on entry and return, but its validity will only be 1 month at the time of entry (and 3 weeks on the return date, everything prepaid).
It's an individual family trip.
The consulate can't give me an answer—they're still looking into it (really!)
Last year, we stayed for 3 months in Thailand, north of Khao Lak, and were able to benefit from the 2-month visa exemption, renewable for one month by going to Takua Pa to validate a 1-month extension (1,900 baht).
This year, it’s a disaster for us—not only were we planning a 4-month stay, adding a visa run in between (which some say is quite risky), but the law is apparently changing in the coming months with the return of the 1-month exemption (plus the usual 1-month option). So, we looked into applying for a 6-month multiple-entry visa, allowing a maximum of 60 consecutive days in Thailand. However, I can’t find anywhere the minimum time required outside Thailand between two stays—do any of you have an idea?
Thanks for the info! If you’d like tips on Khao Lak and the surrounding areas, we’ve got some experience, though things change fast!
Cheers,
Bruno.
My partner, our 8-year-old daughter, and I are going on vacation to Gex.
We’ve decided to spend one day in Switzerland and another in Italy. Will we need ID (national ID card or passport)? Do we also need ID for our daughter?
Hello,
We’ll soon be moving to Madagascar long-term.
As a French national, I need to obtain a short-stay visa that can be converted to a long-stay one. To do this, I have to send the required documents to the Madagascar embassy in Paris.
No issues with that procedure so far.
If I get this visa, once I arrive in Madagascar, I’ll need to provide the same documents to the Ministry of the Interior in Anosy. I’m trying to find an email address or website for the Ministry to check which documents I need to submit (I think they ask for additional ones).
If you have any info on this, I’d appreciate your replies.
Best regards,
M. Buisson Eric
I’d like to know if anyone has already applied for a private visa to Russia with an invitation from a Russian resident.
I traveled earlier this year with an e-visa, but since I want to stay longer, I’ll be visiting my friend who lives in eastern Russia.
For the visa application, does the invitation need to be on an official paper form issued by the Russian ministry? And most importantly, do I need to present the original for the application, or is there an electronic version that can be sent directly to the consulate in France?
Thanks for any info if you’ve gone through this process before!
I filled out the B2 form to apply for a visa, created an account on Atvis to pay the visa fees and schedule a meet-up, but every time I try to pay with my Boursobank Visa 1st card, they refuse the payment with a message telling me to check my details (address), even though everything is correct. Does anyone know why this is happening, or maybe they don’t accept Visa cards? Are you aware of this?
Thanks for your feedback!
Elisabeth
There are rumors going around about the ETA: it must absolutely be on your smartphone in the "ETA" app.
Paper documents might not be accepted.
Is this real or just a hoax?
Thanks, I’m leaving in 3 weeks. My passport is good to go and my ETA is still valid for a year, but I only printed the email I received.
Thanks everyone.
Hi there,
We need to apply for a B2 visa because we visited Iran in 2018. It currently costs $185, but they’re planning an additional $250 fee per person for the same visa—it’s been approved but not yet implemented. Does anyone know when this fee will take effect?
Thanks in advance!
Elisabeth
Hi there,
In November, we're heading off on a 4-month trip. We'll be landing in China and plan to leave the country via a land border into Vietnam.
I’ve read that China may ask for proof of exit within 30 days (flight ticket or other reservation). Since we’d be leaving by land, I’m wondering how this works in practice.
Has anyone here been in this situation recently?
Did the airline ask for an exit ticket before boarding?
Did Chinese authorities require proof upon arrival?
Is a train/bus ticket to Vietnam sufficient?
Is a cancelable or flexible reservation accepted?
Hi there,
Just a question that’s probably been asked before (though usually the other way around for my situation :))
My wife and I are heading to the US.
On her ticket, it only has her maiden name (e.g., Martine DUPOND).
On her passport, it’s written as Martine DUPOND épouse AVRY.
No issues for travel, I hope I did the right thing with the ticket?
Then for the ESTA, is just Martine DUPOND enough, or do I need to include the "épouse AVRY" part like on the passport?
Thanks in advance!
Hi there,
I’m spending a few days in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) and would like to cross the Argentine border to make a loop toward Salta and then return to Chile to drop off the rental car.
I’ve heard that crossing the border can be tricky!
Is it possible with a rental company’s authorization? Which company, and at what cost?
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Best regards,
Arnale
I saw on the French Embassy in Peru’s website and the Peruvian Consulate in Paris’s site that the rule is to have a passport valid for 6 months *after the arrival date* (not the return date).
I arrive in Peru on August 13, 2019 (for about twelve days), and my passport is valid until February 16, 2020.
That’s 6 months and 3 days after my arrival date in Peru. In my opinion, I’m good to go.
But could I still be denied entry if they say I don’t cover the return date or that I’m too close to the 6-month mark?
I read on the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs website that it’s possible to apply for a temporary driving permit in China, valid for 1 month.
I’m planning to rent a car (without a driver) to explore part of the country next August, so I was wondering:
Has anyone here already gone through this process upon arrival?
How long do the formalities take on the spot?
Is it possible to handle these steps in advance, before arriving in China?
Hi there,
My departure is slowly approaching, and now that I’ve got my Russian visa sorted, I’m fine-tuning the rest of my trip to Tajikistan. Since the Tajik visa is no longer required for stays under 30 days (for French nationals), I’ll need to visit the Ministry of Interior (OVIR) to register within 10 days of entering the country. No big deal, though, since I had to go there anyway to apply for my GBAO permit. 😉 However, I’ve *seen* several reports from travelers (mostly motorized) mentioning that you need an entry permit for Kyrgyzstan, which has to be arranged in advance at the Kyrgyz Ministry (consulate?) in Dushanbe. Otherwise, you’re *stuck* at the Kyzyl-Art border (with no Wi-Fi, of course, to try and sort it out). The most recent report was from a year ago, so I’d love to know if this is still the case and if it’s indeed at the Kyrgyz Ministry (consulate?) where you need to go for this pre-authorization.
Does anyone have any recent info on this?
Thanks in advance!
Hi everyone.
I’m leaving for almost 3 months in the Philippines (11 weeks total) starting in early May.
I already have my round-trip ticket.
The problem is, I don’t have time to get a 2-month visa because the process takes nearly a month.
From what I’ve read here and there, I need a return ticket valid for less than a month when I arrive in the Philippines to prove my good faith.
After that, I can apply for a 30-day extension at the immigration office.
I’m planning to either buy a fully refundable ticket to the nearest country or a fake ticket.
For 3 months, I’ll need to extend my visa two more times before my return date to France.
My question is this:
Will immigration ask me each time I extend my visa by one month to show proof of an exit ticket matching the new visa extension date?
Is it possible to extend directly by 2 months before the initial 30 days expire?
Thanks in advance for your experiences and tips! 😊
I’ve been to Thailand several times, but it was about 20 years ago…
There’s a new system in place now, it seems.
TDAC – Thailand Digital Arrival Card.
Before arriving, I apply for a TDAC, okay.
If during my stay I cross the border to spend a few days in Malaysia and then re-enter Thailand,
do I need to submit a new TDAC application?
Do I use the same TDAC as when I first entered the country?
Or do I initially have to pay for a Thai multi-entry visa?
Thanks in advance for your insights—I can’t find the answer online.
My partner (Mexican) entered France on January 21st as a tourist. She was therefore entitled to stay for 90 days in the Schengen Area. She’ll be leaving for Mexico on April 16th, so she’ll have “used up” 86 days.
She plans to return to France on July 18th. According to the European Commission’s Schengen calculator, this new stay “may be authorized for a maximum of 90 days.” That’s not very clear ("may be," "for a maximum of").
The text of Article 6 of the European regulation (2016/399) states that for a stay planned in the territory of the Member States, not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period, one must examine "the 180-day period preceding each day of the stay." That’s not very clear either.
My partner wants to return to France for a 90-day period starting on July 18th. Is this possible?
There are two ways to look at it:
1) The first day she spent in the Schengen Area was January 21st. That day will drop out of the calculation 180 days later, on July 20th.
From July 20th, she’ll get back 1 day of possible stay; on July 22nd, 2 days; and so on. All the days from her previous stay (January 21st–April 16th) need to be outside the 180-day rolling window.
The last day of her stay was April 16th. Looking 180 days ahead, that brings us to October 13th. From that date, she’ll be able to return for a full 90 days.
2) The number of allowed days is calculated for each day of the new stay. In other words: the 180-day window is recalculated every day, not fixed at the entry date.
If she re-enters France on July 18th, she’ll only have a “credit” of 4 days. But with each day of her new stay, one day from the previous stay (January–April) will drop out of the calculation. The rolling window allows her to “replace” days from the previous stay with those of the new stay, without ever exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period.
In this case, my partner could stay in France for 90 days starting on July 18th.
The Prefecture doesn’t provide any information, nor does Air France, and in the forums I’ve checked, opinions are divided. Thanks for any insights you can share!
Hello,
We’re planning to travel to Indonesia (Sulawesi with family) next July and August for a stay longer than a month (about 6 weeks).
I’ve seen that it’s possible to get a 60-day visa before departure, but I’ve also read about people having a lot of trouble getting it (some even didn’t manage and had to leave without it).
We absolutely need to have these 4 visas BEFORE leaving because once we’re in Sulawesi, I’m not sure we’ll be able to go to an embassy to request a visa extension after 30 days.
In short, how can we **100% guarantee** that we’ll get our 4 60-day visas before our trip this summer?
Hello, HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!
We’re heading back in October for a trip through Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
I have a question: for our route, we’ll need to cross the Zambia and Zimbabwe borders twice each. From experience, I know we won’t have any issues with Botswana.
But for the other two countries, I can’t find a clear answer.
All your tips are welcome!
I’m currently a student on a gap year, and I don’t plan to go back to school right away. That said, traveling really interests me. But I’ve been wondering: does being a student come with any perks when you decide to go abroad? The real question is whether I should re-enroll in a program just to keep that status without actually attending.
