If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad and you need to travel back home but your passport has expired, there may be a way for you to do so.
A memo published by the U.S. State Department on December 28, 2021 stated that U.S. citizens living abroad whose passports expired on or after January 1, 2020 can travel home using their expired passport.
This temporary measure is available only until March 31, 2022 and was created in response to the backlog in processing passport applications for new passports, as well as renewal of passports, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
You may be eligible to return home using your expired passport if you meet the following required conditions:
- You are a U.S. citizen
- You live abroad and want to travel back to the U.S.
- You are flying directly back to the U.S. or U.S. territory, or have a short layover in a foreign country for a connecting flight on your way back to the U.S.
- Your expired passport was originally valid for 10 years, or if you were 15 years or younger when your passport was issued and your expired passport was valid for 5 years
- You are traveling back to the U.S. by March 31, 2022
If you meet all of these conditions, then this might be the best way to go home. Please check out the U.S. State Department memo before making any travel arrangements, just to make sure that nothing has changed.
Here is another article you may be interested in reading. Ready to Travel But Is Your Passport Ready?
Safe travels.