06/05/2022
Important information - Please check your Passport Validity
I know most of you have been reminded by email BUT issues are arising daily at airports with passports SO PLEASE CHECK NOW!
Most of our passports have been tucked away in a drawer for some time and, given the rules regarding passports have changed since we left the EU, we are asking all of our customers to STOP and to CHECK the passport validity dates
The general advice travel to the EU is that your passport must typically be valid for at six months after your intended return date to the UK. The exact period of passport validity required depends on the specific country or countries that you will visit. You can find out more by visiting www.gov.uk enter the country or countries you are travelling to and select “entry requirements”.
When the UK left the EU the rules affecting UK passport validity changed.
The EU will no longer accept any validity over ten years on a UK passport. In years gone by, if you renewed your passport early the unexpired validity may have been transferred to your new passport. In essence Any "extra" validity on your passport over the standard 10 years will not be valid for European destinations.
Always use your passport issue date to calculate the 10-year validity period: -
Example 1
Passport issued date: 10th December 2013
Expiry date: 10th December 2023
The above example shows no additional validity and is valid until the 10th December 2023
Example 2
Passport issue date: 20th July 2013
Expiry date: 20th February 2024
This above example shows 7 extra months validity, which would not count when travelling to Europe the official expiry date is 20th July 2023.
It is really important to check this now, even if you are not travelling until late summer.