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Royal Caribbean 6 months passport validity requirement for Non US Citizen


Ashutosh

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Hi

We have booked Wonder of the Seas to Caribbean(Sint Marteen,St Thomas, cococay) for Nov 13th. It is a closed loop from Cape Canaveral. My mom who is citizen of India plans to travel with us and has a valid US re-entry visa and a Indian passport valid for duration of her stay. Only thing is the passport will expire in 2.5 months(February) which means it's not valid for 6 months after we travel. I read on Royal Caribbean's website that they strongly recommend passport to be valid for 6 months from the date of travel. Will this be a problem with Royal Caribbean/CBP? Will they stop her from getting on-board? 
 

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  • Ashutosh changed the title to Royal Caribbean 6 months passport validity requirement for Non US Citizen

I'm assuming she will be OK to get back into the US, since CBP let her come in the first place.  This is because India is on the list of countries that the US doesn't require 6-month passport validity:  Six-Month Passport Validity Update (cbp.gov).

St. Thomas is part of the US, so that should be fine.

I think the issue might be St Maarten—does she need a visa for St Maarten if she arrives by cruise ship, or only if she flies there?  If she needs a visa, I guess it will depend on what St Maarten requires—6-month extra validity, or not.

 

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According to Wikipedia, the US visa should cover St Maarten:   Visa requirements for Indian citizens - Wikipedia

23px-Flag_of_Sint_Maarten.svg.png Sint Maarten Visa required[331]

Visa not required if holding a valid multiple-entry visa issued by Canada or US. Visa not required if holding a multiple-entry short-stay Schengen visa, an authorization for temporary stay for a Schengen country, or a residence permit for a Schengen country.

 

So... I'm thinking she will probably be OK with less than 6 month passport validity?  But I do agree that this has the potential to cause some confusion at the port.

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Thank you
Yes, she does not need a visa for St Marteen as she has a valid US visa and Indian passport (checked with embassy as well). Also, India is exempt from 6 month entry requirement for US.
I will call RC tomorrow and check with them too. My only fear is if she gets a CBP officer who goes by the generic 6 month validity rules and not follow the exemptions... can i take the print outs from CBP website and show it to them or something if it happens? Any other suggestion to alleviate any confusion?

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I don't think CBP in the US after the cruise is going to be the issue, they know the requirements—it's basically the main part of their job.  

If there is going to be an issue, it will be the contract job port worker who is handling check in at the port.  One of their many jobs is to make sure that nobody gets on that ship that is going to have any issues with immigration at any of the ports the ship is visiting, or any issues with getting back into the country.  If there are issues, these countries are likely going to make Royal Carribean pay large fines, or even say that the ship is not permitted to dock.  If this happens, that person who let them on the ship is going to get into trouble.

So yes, I'd bring some printouts and such with me, just in case.  Based on Murphy's law, if you have it, you won't need it.

I guess if you want to be super safe, double check with St Maarten that the less then 6-month passport validity will be OK.  It is possible that it would *not* be OK if she needed a visa, but she doesn't need a visa because she has the US one.

I doubt they will care anyway, since she is traveling via cruise ship.  The 6-month validity is more of an insurance policy for the country you are visiting, to make sure that you will be able to get *back* to where you came from in case something happens, and you aren't able to leave when you are supposed to.  The ship is going to leave that afternoon.

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