How to check your documents before leaving

Travel documents, visas and electronic authorizations

The first check concerns the expiration date of passport or identity card, read carefully and not left to memory. For those who already have a visa, an ESTA, an ETA or similar authorization, you should verify that the data listed (passport number, dates of validity) still correspond to current ones: these authorizations generally remain linked to the document on which they were requested, and a passport renewed in the meantime can invalidate the application without the traveler knowing until the airport check (the functioning of these systems is explained in the article dedicated to electronic authorizations). For those traveling as a family, the check should be extended to every member of the group, including children's documents.

Car rental, animals and health certificates

Those planning to drive at a destination outside the European Union should verify whether an International Driving Permit is required, an additional document to be requested weeks in advance and often forgotten because mentally associated with car rental alone. Those traveling with pets should check the European passport for companion animals, vaccinations and microchip, while those heading to countries with specific health requirements should also include any vaccination certificates required for entry in the check.

Backup copies and financial obligations

Photographing or scanning every important document, keeping a copy also on an online service accessible from any device, is a safety net useful in case of loss. It should also be checked that the name on each ticket corresponds exactly to that on the document presented, including middle names. Anyone traveling with cash exceeding 10,000 euros (or equivalent), finally, should remember that the entire European Union requires the customs declaration of this amount when crossing an external border: failure to declare it results in fines even when the money has a perfectly legitimate origin.

The most effective way to avoid surprises is to turn this check into a fixed appointment a week before each departure, instead of postponing it to the evening before when there is no longer time to fix anything.