This little-known Canadian passport rule could ruin your 2026 travel plans

If you've got international travel on the horizon for 2026, you might want to take a closer look at your passport — even if it's not technically expired yet.

A commonly overlooked passport regulation is catching Canadian travellers off guard, and it could mean having to renew your travel document months earlier than you anticipated.

Here's the deal: just because your passport shows an expiry date of late 2026 (or even 2027) doesn't guarantee you'll be allowed to board your flight or cross international borders. The reason comes down to entry requirements that vary by country.

According to Service Canada, when you need to renew your passport hinges on your travel destination. Different countries have their own rules, and many of these go beyond simply having a valid document.

Many countries around the globe enforce what's known as the "six-month rule." This means your passport needs to remain valid for at least six months beyond your date of arrival in the country you're travelling to. Popular vacation spots that follow this policy include Thailand, the Dominican Republic, and Singapore, along with dozens of others.

Other countries require a Canadian passport to be valid for at least three months beyond your expected departure date.

If your Canadian passport falls short of this requirement, you likely won't be getting on that plane. If you're not refused boarding somehow, then border officials would turn you away.

Figuring out when you actually need to renew

Before you lock in any international travel for 2026, there are two things you'll want to verify: the specific entry requirements for every country on your itinerary and your passport's expiration date.

While plenty of destinations stick to the six-month guideline, others operate differently. Some only ask for three months of validity beyond your stay, while certain countries simply require your passport to cover the length of your visit.

This means Canadians holding passports that expire in late 2026 or early 2027 may find themselves needing to renew far sooner than they'd planned, depending on where they're headed.

You can see specific entry requirements of a country on the Government of Canada's travel advice page. After checking the requirements of the countries you're travelling to, you can calculate if your passport has sufficient validity. If needed, you can apply for a passport renewal.

Service Canada also advises travellers to look into current processing times before submitting an application.

Don't make the mistake of assuming your passport is good to go just because it hasn't hit its expiry date!

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.

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