Spring and summer vacation planning is underway for many, but before booking tickets and accommodations, travelers are being encouraged to check their passports.
Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News, said if your passport is close to expiring, prioritize getting a new one before booking.
“The one, five-letter-word that has to come out of your vocabulary when either applying for or renewing your passport is ‘later,’” Greenberg said.
If a passport expires within six months of your trip, Greenberg urges you get a new one, because some countries won’t accept passports with that little amount of time left on them. Another thing that will catch American travelers off guard is that some countries turn down passports that have fewer than two unstamped blank pages.
“Review your passport carefully,” Greenberg said. “Earlier is better.”
Greenberg said while a new online system from the State Department is working well, you should still expect the six to eight weeks of waiting to get your new passport, whether you renewed it or are getting your first one.
One unknown, according to Greenberg, continues to be the reduction of the federal workforce and if that could eventually impact the staff that processes passports.
“Hopefully, there won’t be any layoffs or staff reductions. We haven’t heard of any yet, but that wouldn’t be a surprise if there were, based on what’s going on at other agencies,” Greenberg said.
He urged travelers to remember the slowdown seen during the pandemic due to staffing issues among stay-at-home orders.
Traveling to Europe
In the past, a plane ticket was enough for many travelers from the U.S. to get into the United Kingdom, but now, international visitors must sign up for electronic travel authorization, also known as an ETA or an electronic visa.
“You need to have it before you ever buy your ticket, and you can’t get on the plane without it, so apply for it within 72 hours of when you want to buy your ticket,” Greenberg said.
He said the ETA will cost you about $13, when all is said and done. Travelers changing planes on their way to another location outside of the U.K. do not need electronic visas.
“The earlier, again, the better. Especially if you’re going this summer, because you don’t want to have a big line and be unable to get on the plane because you waited too long,” he said.
A similar process for countries in the European Union was expected to kick in this year, but it was recently announced the start of its European Travel Information and Authorization System has been delayed until the last quarter of 2026.