British tourists going on holiday abroad to Europe will be denied boarding on flights if they fail to meet two important passport rules.
Strict passport rules apply for Brits to enter 31 European countries, including popular tourist haunts like Spain, Greece, France, Portugal and Italy. Anyone travelling to a country in the European Union, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, must ensure their passport has a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before your arrival date in that country, AND has an ‘expiry date’ of at least three months after the day you plan to leave. So if you renewed your passport before October 1, 2018, then it may have a date of issue that is more than 10 years old.
If your passport doesn’t meet both of these requirements, then you will be denied entry as you don’t have a valid travel document to enter these countries.
Your Europe explains: “If you are a national from a country outside the EU wishing to visit or travel within the EU, you will need a valid passport and possibly a visa. Your passport should be valid for at least 3 months after the date you intend to leave the EU and it must have been issued within the last 10 years.
“This means your travel document must have been issued within the previous 10 years the day you enter the EU on condition that it is valid until the end of your stay plus an additional 3 months.
“Children and minors must have their own passport and visa, if required. You may also have to produce other supporting documents to border officials upon arrival such as an invitation letter, proof of lodging, return or round-trip ticket.”
Martin Lewis issued a reminder to holidaymakers to check their passport during his ITV The Martin Lewis Money Show Live summer special in May after hearing from a viewer whose daughter was denied boarding despite having seven months left on her passport.
He said: “The first check is: On the day you enter the country, are there less than six months left on your passport? Or if you’re going to the EU, less than three months left? If so, that’s a big problem.
“But there’s another rule. Even if you had seven months, and this is what I think may have happened in Mary’s daughter’s case (seven months left on your passport). If your passport is over 10 years old, many countries won’t let you in.”
Martin warned that border control and flight checks are getting “more stringent” so people need to be vigilant and said the “safest” thing to do if your passport is close to exploring, or is almost 10 years old, is to get a new one.
He said: “Now, if you have done those checks, if there’s yes to either of those, then the safest thing is to renew before you go. It takes three weeks typically to get a new passport and it’s cheaper to do it online. But let me be honest, I’m hearing so many cases like this. If I was seven, eight or nine months away and the rule was six months, I’d probably play safe and get a new passport first anyway, so that I’ve got more on it because it’s being so tricky.”
Passports must be valid for at least three months after the date you intend to leave any of the following 31 countries in Europe, and must have been issued within the last 10 years:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Holidaymakers are advised to apply in good time before travelling as standard applications can take around three weeks to process.