US passport in Peru

Hi. My husband's US passport expires in OCtober 2007. We are going to Peru in June and coming home to the US July 3. The Lonely Planet Guide says that one must hold a passport valid for 6 months after the date of departure (October is 4 months.) Does anyone know how strictly this rule is enforced?
Thanks!

I don't think it's strictly enforced.

this is often strictly enforced in many countries though. Why risk it - just get a new passport, you have time dont you?

Regular service for a US passport is now running 10-12 weeks. You can get it expedited, but not sure how fast that is and you'll pay extra. You could check with the post office and/or a local travel agent for advice.

Interesting, I just checked Timatic, the IATA database the entire travel industry uses and found this clearly specified.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Passport required (recommended to be valid at least 6 months on arrival).<hr></blockquote>

What this means in practice is that the AIRLINE may refuse issuing you a boarding pass day of departure. As the others have said, Immigrations in most of South America rarely hassle "good passport" holders over nitpicking rules like proof of return/onward ticket and similar.

IME, if you are flying American or Delta, you are at great risk of having your trip disrupted.

Problem is that there is now upwards of a 10 week backlog for passport renewal in the US unless you pay a nice expedite fee, pay an agency even more for expedite or somehow find a way to use the emergency passport issuance loopholes.

US State Dept. Passport processing info

I am pretty sure it is not strickly checked (judging from the checks I got at entry) but there is no reason for stress !!! Okay, it ll cost you but you ll have to renew it anyway after this trip, don t you ???

Go with the expedited process. Ten years from now you will know better. You have time if you have the cash.

For those overseas in a location near a consulate or embassy for around two weeks, passport renewal at the normal price is faster than an expedited one in the States. I recently renewed mine for just the basic renewal fee and $3.50 for courier and it was at my door in 8 days.

Also, no RFID chip!!!

Thanks all. Both our airline of choice as well as the Peruvian Embassy say not to worry about the 6 month issue. It's a recommendation, not a requirement and is meant for those fokls staying 90 days or longer, not for tourists like us who are there for 4 weeks.

Just wanted to clear up some questions regarding the passport expiration (expiry) rule for Peru and maybe some other countries.

Check the US Department of State website, select the country to visited, and go to the ENTRY / EXIT REQUIREMENTS section. That is what airlines should use to determine the passport eligibility to enter a country.

If in doubt, call the airline before the trip and confirm, print out the page and bring it with you when checking into the flight.

I just visited Peru from the US (as a US citizen) from Dec 20, 2010 - Jan 4, 2011. My passport expires on Jan 17, 2011. I was able to enter the country with no problems, or questions asked. This information can save you over $150 in passport expedition fees and overnight shipping charges.