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British guests to the EU are dealing with stricter passport validity rules post-Brexit –and it might break your vacation when you’re caught out.
Long gone are the times when you may travel to the EU at any level earlier than your travel doc expired; the UK is now a “third country”, with rules to match.
EU international locations and the broader Schengen Area, which incorporates Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, don’t settle for passports issued greater than 10 years in the past from such travellers.
Before Brexit, the Passport Office issued British passports legitimate for up to 10 years and 9 months, contemplating the remaining time from the earlier passport. While this wasn’t a difficulty beforehand, it’s now affecting some British holidaymakers heading to the EU.
Recent information from the Home Office suggests up to 32 million Brits may very well be caught out by the rule change.
Many readers are naturally involved about their travel plans being sullied by an sudden cease on the verify in desk.
To avoid this, you merely want to go two assessments. On the day of entry to the Schengen Area, your passport should have been issued previously 10 years; and on your proposed day of exit it ought to have at the least three months to run earlier than the expiry date printed within the passport.
During an “Ask Me Anything” session for The Independent, I tackled a variety of questions from readers anxious about their vacation plans and how they’d be impacted.
Q: My spouse’s passport was issued 19 June 2014 and expires 19 January 2025. We are due to travel to France on the 5 April 2024. Now, her passport is inside the 10 yr rule however will solely have two months left on it if the EU considers the expiry date to be nineteenth June 2024. Does she want to get a brand new passport urgently or is the three month rule utilized to the precise expiry date of Jan 2025?
GibberingOwler
A: Thanks very a lot for elevating a extremely essential level so early. Forgive me whereas I’m going on to caps lock. THE EXPIRY DATE OF YOUR PASSPORT IS THE DATE PRINTED BENEATH “DATE OF EXPIRY”. That is the expiry date as recognised by the European Union and everybody else on the planet.
To their enduring disgrace, HM Government, some airways, some travel companies and a few journalists maintained for many months that this was not the case. But it’s and all the time has been.
So your spouse’s passport is legitimate for travel out to France or anyplace else within the UK till 18 June 2024 for a keep of up to 90 days, ie till 15 September 2024 (topic to earlier visits not consuming into the post-Brexit allowance). Bon voyage.
Q: My passport was issued in March 2015 and expires September 2025. I’m due to travel on the finish of April. Can you verify please that my present passport is okay to use as it will likely be lower than 10 years previous once I travel? I simply need to verify I’m understanding the rules appropriately.
Emma
A: There are simply two assessments for the European Union:
Is it youthful than 10 years? In your case, in fact. It’s solely 9 years previous.
Will it have at the least three months remaining on the day you propose to return from the EU? Yes. Enjoy the journey.
Q: I’m confused as a result of I believed you wanted to have a passport to travel to Dublin now as we’re out of the EU.
LornaW
A: The Republic of Ireland is a part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) – together with the 4 nations of the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
There are not any routine passport controls in operation for residents travelling from one a part of the CTA space to one other. As lengthy as you have been born within the UK or Ireland, you’re legally in a position to travel from the UK to Ireland with out a passport.
If you propose to travel on Ryanair, the airline insists that you’ve got a sound passport (no restrictions on validity, as long as it has not exceeded its expiry date). On arrival at Dublin airport, you’ll undergo passport management.
But British Airways says: “If you are a citizen of the UK or Republic of Ireland who was born in that country you do not need a passport to travel between the two countries but you do require some form of photographic identification, such as a driving licence.”
Aer Lingus, BA’s sister airline, provides {that a} bus go or work ID card with your photograph on is sort of enough. The ferries are equally relaxed.
Q: My understanding was that it’s essential to have a look at the date of difficulty of your passport and add 10 years. This date needs to be handled as your expiry date for the needs of travel to EU. The ‘issued within 10 years and still have three months left after travel return date would then be applied. Is this correct?
GrannyAnnie
A: Sorry, caps lock again. NO, THE UK GOVERNMENT PRETENDED THAT WAS THE CASE FOR A WHILE until I persuaded them to actually apply the rules that the European Union applies. Your passport expires on the day printed in your passport under “Date of Expiry”.
Q: The BBC has confused me with their article. How can a passport issued up until September 2018 be affected now, or do they mean ‘be aware you will be affected in the future’ i.e. subsequent yr for ones issued in 2015?
Sharron
A: Sorry for any confusion the BBC has induced. The September 2018 date is related as a result of that’s when the long-established custom of permitting further time was abolished in a single day. Passports issued since then can’t fall foul of the rule that the UK requested to be utilized to itself.
Q: Is the beginning date difficulty solely legitimate for the EU? I’m travelling to Asia and my passport can have greater than six months left on it once we travel however the passport will probably be 10 years previous on the travel dates.
MuttzMuttz
A: The European Union is the one a part of the world that cares tuppence in regards to the difficulty date of your passport. So no drawback for Asia as long as your passport expiry date meets the necessities for the person international locations.
Q: Yet one other Brexit bonus, eh? Is this what they meant by ‘taking back control?…
hayneman
A: I have written as much as I possibly could on the benefits of Brexit for travellers here.
After all, we know: “Brexit has given the UK a world of future opportunities”. It must be true because the government says so.
The main rail unions, which campaigned enthusiastically for Brexit, must also be celebrating.
And then there’s “blue” passports. The authorities says: “As this document demonstrates – this is a government that possesses the ambition and determination the UK needs to succeed now and for many years to come.”
Hurrah! And please don’t level out that as members of the EU we might have made our passports any color we like.
Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this text. You can learn the complete dialogue within the feedback part of the authentic article.
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