International travel: the 18 items
Every document on this list is easy to fix months out and miserable to fix at the airport. Roughly in order of how badly each one can ruin the trip.
Scope: United States. Deadlines vary by state, employer and plan — confirm the ones that matter.
| Document or task | Why, where, how urgent |
|---|---|
| Passport — it has the longest lead time | |
| ☐ Find the passport (actually find it) and check the expiration date against the six-month rule | Many countries require validity six months past your arrival or departure; a renewal takes weeks — do this the day you book |
| ☐ Start the renewal now if the date is anywhere near the danger zone | |
| Visas and travel authorizations | |
| ☐ Check the official government or embassy site of your destination — per trip, even for countries you have visited before | A growing number of visa-free destinations want an electronic travel authorization applied for online before you fly |
| ☐ Note whether approval is instant or takes days, and whether you need a printed confirmation | |
| ☐ Check the transit country too, if you have a layover | |
| ☐ Save the confirmation email or PDF the moment it arrives | |
| Insurance and health paperwork | |
| ☐ Travel insurance: the policy number, the 24-hour emergency assistance line, and what is covered | Medical care abroad and evacuation are the parts worth reading twice; many US health plans don’t cover you overseas |
| ☐ Proof of vaccination where the destination requires it | Yellow fever is the classic example; some vaccines must be done weeks before travel to count |
| Copies, kept apart from originals | |
| ☐ A paper copy of the passport data page and visa, packed separately from the passport | |
| ☐ A digital copy you can open without internet — saved to the phone itself, not an email | |
| ☐ One full set left with someone at home who answers their phone | |
| The numbers you hope you never dial | |
| ☐ Your embassy or consulate at the destination | Lost passport, arrest, serious emergency |
| ☐ Insurer’s emergency assistance line | Medical help and pre-approval abroad |
| ☐ Bank and card-loss numbers | Freezing cards works better before the thief shops |
| ☐ One contact at home | The person holding your spare document set |
| ☐ Where you are staying, written down | Immigration forms ask; jet lag deletes it |
| Traveling as a family | |
| ☐ Every item above, times each traveler — including a passport for each infant | In the US, children’s passports last only five years and expire out of sync with the adults’ |
| ☐ A notarized consent letter from the absent parent, if a child travels with one parent or with grandparents | Some countries ask for it; check the destination’s embassy site well ahead |
Copied from the scenario page: International travel
How to use this list
Tick each box as you find or file the document; the count at the top of the widget updates and the ticks are kept in this browser’s local storage, so the list is where you left it next time on the same device. Print gives a clean page with boxes; the .txt download gives the same 18 items with [x] marks to paste into a note or send to family.
For the reasoning behind each item — why it matters and what to keep afterwards — read the full International travel scenario page. The other four lists are on the document checklist page.
How to use the document checklist
- Pick the moment. Choose moving, new baby, death in the family, new job or travel from the menu. The list loads with its groups in the order the paperwork arrives.
- Tick what you have. Tap a box as you find or file each document. The count at the top updates; ticks are saved in this browser so the list is where you left it next time.
- Print or download. Print gives you a clean paper checklist with boxes. Download .txt gives you the same list as text, with [x] for ticked items.
- Read the full scenario when something is unclear. Every list links the page it was copied from, which explains why each document matters and what to keep afterwards.