My wife, daughter, and I are coming to AC on 5/22 for a long weekend. Last night I thought to check the expiration dates on our passports and realized that my wifes will be expiring in August of this year (approx. 3 months after we have returned home from the trip). It is my understanding that the lead time to get a US passport renewal is still being delayed for extended periods of time right now. I would prefer to renew it after we had returned home when time would not be an issue. Does anyone know if Belize has any type of entry restriction like they do in some other countries where if your passport is within 6 months of expiration that you can not enter?

Thanks....

you have plenty of time. Renew when you get home. The backup seems to be taken care of and most get done in 6 to 8 weeks.
Because you are leaving with in 30 days don't think anyone will say anything about her passport. Here is the info page.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738_2.html
Mary

DOA, you can also expedite the passport. Or if your really in a hurry you can go to your nearest passport office and walk it from building to building. Here in Texas I think it's in Houston but not sure.

I don't think the wait is like it was last year.

WOAH!! i have always heard the above quote is true in belize - that you are not supposed to enter the country if your passport is within 6 months of expiration. CAN ANYONE WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS STUFF VERIFY THIS???

I'm told that your passport needs to have six months remaining validity on it if you are going to get on a plane to Belize, but that might have changed. Check with the airline immediately as this could be a real issue.
If you have a plane ticket already I think you can use that for expediting a renewal of your passport.

my daughter came back in Nov. 08 her passport expired the day before she left. She was only here a week. Nobody said anything. They probably did not look at the dates.
Mary

It is not that we are in a rush to renew or do not want to renew her passport. It would not be a big deal, except that you have to surrender the old passport with the application for the new one. I just hate the thought of sending in the current one and then have something happen where we are left hanging when it is time to leave on the trip. I guess I will send it in and just pay for the expidited service, beats taking a day off to go down and walk it through the passport office.

D.O.A.

From the BTB web site www.travelbelieze.org :

"With the exception of cruise ship passengers, all visitors to Belize must present a valid passport before entering the country. Please note that driver's licenses and birth certificates are not approved travel documents and cannot be used to enter the country. Passports must be valid up until time of departure.

In cases where a visitor remains in the country for over 30 days, an extension of entry must be requested. Extensions are available for the cost of:

Up to 6 months for US $25
After 6 months US $50 per month"

You should be all set. Hope this helps.
Byron

The government website is far more reliable than the personal experiences of others. You will get your answer at:

http://www.governmentofbelize.gov.bz/weather_travel.html

"All travelers entering the country must have a valid passport (valid for up to six months after visit) and a proof of return to their country. No visas are required for citizens of the United States, United Kingdom and the majority of Caribbean Islands. Visitors from other countries must check for information about obtaining a visa. Belize allows visitors a maximum of one-month stay in the country before they require an extension."

If you want to take the chance that nobody will notice the expiry date on your wife's passport, go for it. I wouldn't risk it. It would sure spoil your holiday if she had to stay home.

To kind of ease your fears on passports; we did ours about a month ago. It was just about two weeks before we got our passport and travel cards with all of our submitted paperwork. I think you'll be fine.