I am a South African citizen returning to South Africa but my passport will only have a few days left at time of departure. Will Australian authorities and the airlines allow me to leave the country with only a few days before the expiry date?
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6There is never a requirement for people going to their own country to have passport valid beyond the date of entry. However, where will you transit through, and is it a connecting flight or a self-transfer, or will you leave the transit airport secure area for any other reason?– jcaronCommented Jul 1 at 7:04
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Since you’ll be leaving Australia, I very much doubt the authorities there will care about your passport expiry date.– TravellerCommented Jul 1 at 9:59
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2 Answers
- Since you are leaving, Australia will only require that your passport is valid when you leave Australia
- Since you are a South African citizen, South Africa will only require that your passport is valid when you arrive in South Africa (possibly not even that, but airlines will not accept an expired passport).
So neither Australia nor South Africa will have an issue with your passport expiring soon.
However, if you transit through a third country, you may have additional requirements on passport validity for that transit, especially if you have to leave the secure transit area, for instance if:
- You are doing a self-transfer (two flights booked separately)
- You are staying overnight (or longer) in the transit country (staying in a hotel)
Details depend on the transit country and the exact circumstances.
Short answer: you can travel until the day before your passport expires (be sure to arrive at the destination before it expires).
Some countries require longer expiration dates (3 to 6 months longer than return date). However, Australia is not one of them (1).
In addition, you are returning to your home country, so even if you would have this this requirement on the outbound trip, it wouldn't apply for the return journey.
