U.S. citizens currently abroad whose passports expired on or after January 1, 2020, may be able to use their expired U.S. passport for return travel to the United States until March 31, 2022.
The State Department on Tuesday (Dec. 28) extended the exception for travellers returning from overseas travel on expired passports, which had been set to expire Friday.
Customs and Border Protection officers will accept U.S. passports that expired on or after Jan. 1, 2020, for return travel until March 31.
The move is “to lessen travel difficulties created by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” the State Department said.
Travellers will still have to meet certain conditions. They must fly directly to the U.S. or make only an airport connection in a foreign country.
The passport also must have originally been valid for 10 years or five years for a child and must be undamaged, unaltered and in the traveller’s possession.
Expired passports cannot be used to travel from the U.S. to an international destination.
The State Department announced last week that it would increase its security surcharge fees for passport books by $20 for all customers starting Dec. 27. Passport processing times have dropped to eight weeks from 11 weeks.
The State Department also reminds U.S. citizens that, as of December 6, 2021, all air travellers, regardless of vaccination status, must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, take no more than 24 hours of their flight’s departure to the United States.
