When to renew your passport — and how to remember
Published 14 June 2026 · Updated 20 July 2026
A passport that is technically valid can still be useless. Airlines and immigration desks look for months of remaining validity, not just a date that has not passed yet.
The six-month rule
Many countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months after the date you enter. Some require more. This is checked at the airline counter, before you even reach immigration.
So a passport expiring in four months is, for travel purposes, already expired. Plan around remaining validity, not the printed date.
When to actually start
Start the renewal roughly one year before the printed expiry date. That leaves room for appointment slots, police verification and postal delivery without any of it becoming urgent.
If you travel often, keep an eye on blank pages too. Running out of pages forces a renewal regardless of the date.
Setting a reminder you will actually see
A calendar entry a year out will be forgotten. What works is a reminder tied to the document itself, repeated as the date gets closer.
In Apka Saathi you add a photo of the passport once. It picks up the expiry date and reminds you well before it matters — and again as the date approaches.
Let Saathi remember it for you
Add a document or a reminder once. Saathi handles the dates from there — free to start, in Hindi or English.
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