Q.1173 Six months passport

validity requirement - India

Question: Dear Sir/Madam, Me and my son are US citizens and have OCI. We both will be travelling to India in mid- August. Now the problem is my sons passport is expiring in mid-Feb which is like 6 months from the travel time. Can we still travel to India or do I need to renew his passport? We are going to be in India for about 3-4 weeks say till first week of September. Does the passport validity has to be 6 months while we are leaving the country or the validity should be 6 months when we enter the country?? Little confused!! Please help and advise. Thank you!! Regards. Answer: Entry into India as per rules requires a valid visa as well as ‘a valid foreign passport, with a minimum remaining validity of six months’. My interpretation of ‘remaining validity of six months’ is that there should be six months passport validity from the date of entry. How diligently this rule is enforced would perhaps depend on the immigration officer at point of entry. I have never heard of a case where a person with a valid visa was denied entry into India for being short by a few days on six month passport validity. However, rules are rules and the immigration officer at point of entry will make the final decision on whether a person is to be allowed entry or not. Airlines are supposed to be aware of entry rules for the countries they fly to and are also supposed to check their passenger’s documents to ensure they meet the entry requirements before departure. To alleviate your concerns you can check with the Indian consulate in your jurisdiction.