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My Pakistani passport expires less than a month from now. I understand that some countries only let people in if their passport is valid for six months or more. Will I be able to enter Pakistan on a passport that is about to expire?

Also, travelling back to Pakistan is likely to involve transiting through some other country. Does the six-month rule still apply to people returning to their country of citizenship?

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    Are you asking about the possibility of entering Pakistan or the possibility of transiting in some other country on the journey back to Pakistan? (Or both?) Most (I assume all) countries allow citizens to return even without a passport, though some may fine people returning without a valid passport.
    – David Richerby
    Mar 24, 2016 at 15:37
  • Thanks David for your comment. I am asking the possibility of transiting in some other country on the journey back to Pakistan, and boarding airline. Would i have any issues with the airline? I think I should be able to enter Pakistan once there but could I experience issues with airlines who would notice that the passport expires in less than 1 month.
    – user41553
    Mar 24, 2016 at 15:45
  • Thanks! I edited your question to clarify this. Please check that I didn't make a mess of anything.
    – David Richerby
    Mar 24, 2016 at 18:33
  • The question of transiting another country should be asked specifically for country/countries you'd be transiting, as the requirements are very different from one country to the next (and even potentially one airport to another in the same country.) Some airports don't require you to enter their country at all to transit (HKG and ICN both come to mind,) while others have relatively strict requirements (including obtaining visas ahead of time and such.)
    – reirab
    Mar 24, 2016 at 22:52

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The six-month validity rule, and similar rules requiring passports to be valid beyond the date of arrival or anticipated date of departure apply only to people visiting countries other than their own.

Or, alternatively, countries apply these rules only to foreign passports.

The point of having such a rule is likely to avoid having foreigners in the country temporarily with expired passports. Passports can take a long time to replace, and such a person might be forced to overstay in such a situation.

For requirements at "different transit locations," the question is too broad; there are literally hundreds of countries which will all have different rules. Even limiting it to airport hubs, the question still covers dozens of jurisdictions.

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My Pakistani passport expires less than a month from now. I understand that some countries only let people in if their passport is valid for six months or more. Will I be able to enter Pakistan on a passport that is about to expire?

Yes. Your passport is valid till the midnight of the date of expiry; and as long as you pass immigration control (at Pakistan) before that, you are okay. Pakistan will not deny you entry even if your passport expires while you are waiting in line for immigration - as you are Pakistani citizen. They may take you aside and have to file some paperwork, but you are guaranteed entry.

Also, travelling back to Pakistan is likely to involve transiting through some other country. Does the six-month rule still apply to people returning to their country of citizenship?

No, transiting countries care that you have proper documents/authorization. That means, you need to make sure that if you need any transit visas you have procured them before your trip.

Other than that, they only care that your passport and any other documents are valid for the purpose and length of your journey.

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You can enter Pakistan on any date up to and including the expiration date of your passport, but not after that.

Given the difficulty of renewing the passport while abroad, it is a good idea to do so while you are in Pakistan.

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    I'm pretty sure any country of which you're a citizen will let you back in the country if you can prove identity, which an expired passport usually can. They might make a note on your file and you encounter difficult situations down the road, though.
    – corsiKa
    Mar 24, 2016 at 22:08
  • @corsiKa Many countries will, but unfortunately this is not true of all of them. India and Pakistan are two well known examples of this.
    – Michael Hampton
    Mar 24, 2016 at 22:38
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    If you are talking about the cases of illegal repatriation; then that's a different issue all together; and does not apply here. Also, I don't know of difficulties (beyond the fact that it takes longer) in renewing passports outside of the home country.
    – Burhan Khalid
    Mar 25, 2016 at 7:16

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