This rule could stop you from travelling so make sure you check.
British holidaymakers are being warned to double check the expiry date on their passport, otherwise their travel plans might be ruined.
The issue surrounds the ‘ten year rule’, whereby EU countries won’t accept passports that were created over ten years ago.
Prior to Brexit, UK travellers were able to carry up to nine months over from an old passport on to a new one.
However, since 2020, that grace period has no longer been in effect, and some people have found out the hard way.
That was the case for Nathan Barnes, a 31 year old paramedic from Norwich who was refused boarding on a flight to France.
Nathan told BBC News that he had checked in online prior to arriving at the airport, and had made it through security and passport control before he was stopped by an airline staff member at the departure date and told he couldn’t board the plane.
“My passport had been issued more than 10 years previously,” he said. “They were very matter of fact about it, they just said ‘sorry you can’t board, off you pop’.”
“I was gutted, surprised really. We had checked in online and thought it was fine.”
Unfortunately, because it was technically Nathan’s own fault, he couldn’t get a refund or any compensation.
Data collected by the Home Office suggests that 32 million people had applied for passports that, if granted, would be over 10 years old and therefore not usable when travelling to countries within the EU.
Since Brexit came into effect, travellers heading to all countries within the zone – and including Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland, but not Ireland – are required to have a passport which was issued less than 10 years before their departure date.
It must also be valid for three months after their planned return date.
It’s important to double check your documents, in order to avoid a situation whereby you’ve packed your bags, sett off for the airport excited for your journey, only to be refused at the departure gates like Nathan from Norwich.
Just to make sure the conditions are absolutely clear, here’s a rundown of the rules on British passports travelling to European countries following the UK’s departure from the EU.
- Post-Brexit, EU countries now do not accept passports issued more than 10 years ago.
- In general, people travelling from the UK to EU countries need passports that are valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave on a trip.
- If travelling outside the EU, how much time you need on your passport depends on the country you want to visit.
- Passports can be renewed online by HM Passport Office or by using a paper application form from certain Post Offices.
- It should take up to three weeks to renew a passport from the UK, but it can take longer.
- To get a passport issued urgently in the UK, book an appointment at the nearest passport office. It takes up to a week to be issued.
In a column published to The Independent, travel correspondent Simon Calder stated that he believes “easily a couple of hundred people a day” are being turned away at the airport because of this issue.
So, to avoid being one of the “couple of hundred people a day”, make sure you take note of the above.
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