A couple claimed they lost £3,000 after being unaware of this passport rule that catches out numerous Brits each year.
Huw and Patricia Gosling, from Porthcawl in Bridgend county, had planned a holiday to Sofia in Bulgaria for a week to see an opera in July 2023.
But Huw, 69, was unable to board the flight at Birmingham Airport after being told he could not travel because his passport had been issued more than 10 years earlier.
UK passports are valid for exactly 10 years, but those issued before September 2018 could be valid for 10 years and nine months because the Passport Office used to add up to nine months from an old passport onto a new one.
And since leaving the EU, Brits must ensure their passport was issued less than 10 years ago for numerous European destinations.
Huw and Patricia, 70, were planning to see German composer Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, which Mr Gosling described as “20 hours of opera over four days. It’s very special.”
Before travelling Huw had entered his passport details on the IATA Travel Centre website, which confirmed to him “the documentation you hold is sufficient”. And despite having a 10-year-old passport, he thought he had enough time as it was valid for a further nine months.
He told the BBC: “I knew I needed more than three months left on it and mine had nine, so it seemed like plenty,” he said, adding that his passport details had been checked when he checked in and booked his luggage at the airport.
“But when I got to the gate, the woman said ‘You can’t travel on this passport’. I was livid, but I didn’t know who to be livid with. At the end of the day, the European rules had changed and I was not allowed to travel. I was livid almost with myself, but then I thought what more could I have done?”
“We lost everything. We lost our flights, they weren’t insured. And Patricia couldn’t travel alone because she’s in a wheelchair. I was able to get money back for our hotel but not for the travel, car parking or opera tickets. We lost about £3,000.”
The UK Government advise travellers to check the entry requirements online before travelling abroad.
Are you affected by the 10-year rule?
- Check if your passport was issued before September 2018
- Has it passed its 10-year anniversary? Even if it has several months left to run, it is invalid for travel to all EU countries with the exception of Ireland as well as Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland
- If you are going to these countries you must have a passport issued less than 10 years before your departure date
- If your passport is invalid you can try and book an emergency appointment online at your nearest passport office which offers a one-day and a one-week fast track service
- Otherwise passports can be renewed online by HM Passport Office or by using a paper application from certain Post Offices
- It can take up to three weeks to renew a passport from the UK
