Recently, I ran into a problem with my passport. It doesn’t expire until 2022, but I was running out of space — and fast. I realized before I left for Turks and Caicos in May that I only had two pages left — and that one of those pages was one of the final “endorsement” pages, which aren’t for visas anyway.

Fortunately, I knew to check on passport requirements for my next trip to Norway in June. According to the U.S. Department of State, Norway requires two empty pages in your passport to enter the country!

Believe it or not, Norway is not the only country that has this requirement. Several others require either one or two blank pages for entry, including Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Sweden and Iceland.

If you show up at the airport without the empty pages you need to enter countries with this requirement, you can literally be turned away. If you manage to board your plane and land in your destination, you can be sent back.

How to Check Passport Requirements

If you’re unsure whether a country you’re visiting has any specific passport or visa requirements, you can check the U.S. Department of State website. They have a dedicated page for each country outside the U.S., and you can find information such as passport requirements, any security alerts, and how many pages should be blank on your passport for entry into each country.

You can also use the U.S. Department of State to find out about entry requirements, such as if you need a travel visa to enter a specific country.

How I Am Getting My Passport

One problem with traveling so much is that I never, ever have the standard 6-8 weeks in between trips to order a passport the old-fashioned way. I can’t think of any time this year when I didn’t travel internationally within any four-week period.

I wound up paying a company called Travel Visa Pro to expedite my passport for me within 7-11 business days. This set me back almost $400, which is outrageous. Unfortunately, because I live in Central Indiana, I’m not close to any passport offices that let you do it any cheaper.

I’m pretty bummed about the added expense, but I’m sure my Norway trip will be well worth it.

Have you ever traveled to a country that required empty pages in your passport? Where?

 

[Featured Image: Shutterstock]

Source: frugal travel guy