diff --git a/src/datepicker/datepicker.js b/src/datepicker/datepicker.js
index 599f3c3562..fed671ece8 100644
--- a/src/datepicker/datepicker.js
+++ b/src/datepicker/datepicker.js
@@ -372,13 +372,23 @@ function ($compile, $parse, $document, $position, dateFilter, datepickerPopupCon
           ngModel.$setValidity('date', true);
           return viewValue;
         } else if (angular.isString(viewValue)) {
-          var date = new Date(viewValue);
-          if (isNaN(date)) {
+          var dateStr = dateFilter(viewValue, dateFormat);
+          if (dateStr === undefined) {
             ngModel.$setValidity('date', false);
             return undefined;
           } else {
-            ngModel.$setValidity('date', true);
-            return date;
+            var dateParts = dateStr.split(/\/|\.|\-/); //check for "/" or "." or "-" to split date
+            var date = new Date(dateStr);
+            if (dateParts.length === 3){
+              date = new Date(dateParts[2], dateParts[1] - 1, dateParts[0]);
+            }
+            if (isNaN(date)) {
+              ngModel.$setValidity('date', false);
+              return undefined;
+            } else {
+              ngModel.$setValidity('date', true);
+              return date;
+            }
           }
         } else {
           ngModel.$setValidity('date', false);