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An estimated 32 million British passport holders may probably fall foul of post-Brexit rules on validity for travel to the European Union, it has emerged.
In the Brexit deal, the UK negotiated for British travellers to turn out to be “third-country nationals” – according to residents from dozens of different international locations comparable to Venezuela and Samoa.
European Union nations don’t permit such travellers to enter on a passport issued over 10 years in the past. The identical applies within the wider Schengen Area, together with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. UK guests to Ireland aren’t topic to the restriction.
The Passport Office’s pre-Brexit coverage was to challenge British travel paperwork legitimate for as much as 10 years and 9 months, taking account of the unspent time on a earlier passport. That posed no downside whereas the UK was a member of the EU, however for the reason that Brexit settlement took impact lots of of 1000’s of persons are believed to have misplaced their holidays as a result of of inadvertently breaching the rules.
Airport sources contacted by The Independent point out that, on a typical day, 200 outbound travellers are prevented from departing as a result of of EU rules on challenge and expiry dates. The rejection usually occurs at examine in or the departure gate.
The BBC cited the case of Nathan Barnes, a 31-year-old paramedic from Norwich, who was refused boarding on a flight to France.
He was on his technique to Limoges together with his fiancé to go to household. Despite checking in for the flight on-line, he was stopped at the departure gate.
“My passport had been issued more than 10 years previously,” he mentioned. “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,” he added.
The BBC’s Marc Ashdown has analysed Home Office figures on passports issued as much as September 2018 that counsel 32 million folks may probably fall foul of EU rules.
The Schengen Area additionally requires UK travellers to have at least three months remaining earlier than the expiry date on their passport on the day of departure from the European zone.
The Independent has requested all the key airways if they may assist determine potential issues earlier by requesting passport information and assessing validity. Most say that the problem is simply too complicated, however Tui is engaged on an answer.
If a passenger is appropriately denied boarding, travel insurance coverage is not going to pay out to cowl consequent losses.
The EU and wider Schengen Area are the one places with circumstances in regards to the challenge date of your passport. Many different international locations, such because the US, Canada and Australia, permit British passport holders to travel as much as and together with the expiry date of your passport – although some nations demand at least six months is remaining.
There isn’t any downside travelling to Europe with a passport issued for over 10 years, as long as it’s beneath 10 years previous on the date of departure to the EU and can have three months remaining on the date of return.
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