How to avoid post-Brexit passport chaos: Simon Calder answers your questions on new rules for travelling to EU

British visitors to the EU are facing stricter passport validity rules post-Brexit –and it could ruin your holiday if you’re caught out.

Long gone are the days when you could travel to the EU at any point before your travel document expired; the UK is now a “third country”, with rules to match.

EU countries and the wider Schengen Area, which includes Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, do not accept passports issued more than 10 years ago from such travellers.

Before Brexit, the Passport Office issued British passports valid for up to 10 years and nine months, considering the remaining time from the previous passport. While this wasn’t an issue previously, it’s now affecting some British holidaymakers heading to the EU.

Recent data from the Home Office suggests up to 32 million Brits could be caught out by the rule change.

Many readers are naturally concerned about their travel plans being sullied by an unexpected stop at the check in desk.

To avoid this, you simply need to pass two tests. On the day of entry to the Schengen Area, your passport must have been issued in the past 10 years; and on your proposed day of exit it should have at least three months to run before the expiry date printed in the passport.

During an “Ask Me Anything” session for The Independent, I tackled a wide range of questions from readers worried about their holiday plans and how they would be impacted.

Q: My wife’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 within the 10 year rule but will only have two months left on it if the EU considers the expiry date to be 19th June 2024. Does she need to get a new passport urgently or is the three month rule applied to the actual expiry date of Jan 2025?

GibberingOwler

A: Thanks very much for raising a really important point so early. Forgive me while I go 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 everyone else on the planet.

To their enduring shame, HM Government, some airlines, some travel firms and some journalists maintained for many months that this was not the case. But it is and always has been.

So your wife’s passport is valid for travel out to France or anywhere else in the UK until 18 June 2024 for a stay of up to 90 days, ie until 15 September 2024 (subject to previous visits not eating into the post-Brexit allowance). Bon voyage.

Q: My passport was issued in March 2015 and expires September 2025. I am due to travel at the end of April. Can you confirm please that my current passport is ok to use as it will be less than 10 years old when I travel? I just want to check I am understanding the rules correctly.

Emma

A: There are just two tests for the European Union:

Is it younger than 10 years? In your case, of course. It’s only nine years old.

Will it have at least three months remaining on the day you plan to return from the EU? Yes. Enjoy the journey.

Q: I am confused because I thought you needed to have a passport to travel to Dublin now as we are out of the EU.

LornaW

A: The Republic of Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) – along with the four nations of the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

There are no routine passport controls in operation for citizens travelling from one part of the CTA area to another. As long as you were born in the UK or Ireland, you are legally able to travel from the UK to Ireland without a passport.

If you plan to travel on Ryanair, the airline insists that you have a valid passport (no restrictions on validity, so long as it has not exceeded its expiry date). On arrival at Dublin airport, you will go through passport control.

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, adds that a bus pass or work ID card with your photo on is quite sufficient. The ferries are similarly relaxed.

Q: My understanding was that you must look at the date of issue of your passport and add 10 years. This date should be treated as your expiry date for the purposes 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. next year for ones issued in 2015?

Sharron

A: Sorry for any confusion the BBC has caused. The September 2018 date is relevant because that is when the long-established tradition of allowing extra time was abolished overnight. Passports issued since then cannot fall foul of the rule that the UK asked to be applied to itself.

Q: Is the start date issue only valid for the EU? I’m travelling to Asia and my passport will have more than six months left on it when we travel but the passport will be 10 years old on the travel dates.

MuttzMuttz

A: The European Union is the only part of the world that cares tuppence about the issue date of your passport. So no problem for Asia so long as your passport expiry date meets the requirements for the individual countries.

Q: Yet another 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 government 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 point out that as members of the EU we could have made our passports any colour we like.

Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article.

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