Passport Renewal

[smurfchops]

I read today that “since Brexit, British passports cannot be more than ten years old, when used to travel to EU, travellers need to look at the date of issue rather than the date of expiry”. Is this true??

[bednobs]

yes

[Samuraisan]

Apparently.

[barry1010]

Yes, there has been lots of posts on AB and reports in the press about it.
It's been that way for at least two years

[smurfchops]

Thanks all, glad I found that out!

[-SharonA-]

So what should be the issue date?

[New Judge]

It must be no more than ten years old when you arrive in the EU and have at least three months' validity remaining on the date you plan to leave.

[barry1010]

Sharon, the day the passport was issued. It will be stated clearly on your passport

[-SharonA-]

Duh, I get it. If going to Spain next week, your passport should have only 9 years left. That right???

[bednobs]

no. It has to have been issued no more than 10 years ago

[jno]

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/apr/29/briton-valid-passport-barred-from-flight-brexit-rules-eu

[New Judge]

If going to Spain next week, your passport should have only 9 years left. That right???

No that's not right.

Your passport will have an issue date. That date must be no more than ten years prior to the date you arrive in the EU. If you plan to return home on (say) the 1st June 2023, your passport must not expire before 1st September 2023.

[calmck]

The problem is that if you renewed your passport before it expired you were given an expiration date over the ten year validity. Example
Passport with issue date of July 23 2013 is valid for EU travel until July 23 2023 after Brexit even if expiration date is September 23 2023. Any extra days/ months are now not valid for EU travel

[jno]

actually, I thought the Home Office canned the idea of adding unexpired time a few years ago?

[calmck]

I think they did but mine has the extra days from 2014

[jno]

your time is running out, calmck, your end is near...

[ABerrant]

The carrying over of up to 9 months validity from a previous passport was ended in September 2018 to bring the UK into line with international guidelines relating to maximum passport validity i.e. 10 years.

[jno]

thanks, ABerrant. Not necessarily an EU/Brexit thing then.

[smurfchops]

By coincidence, just seen this
https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/16/how-long-do-you-need-left-on-your-passport-to-travel-expiration-date-rules-18794417/

[Hymie]

Have you not been reading all my posts concerning the Brexit benefits over the last few years?

[New Judge]

//Have you not been reading all my posts concerning the Brexit benefits over the last few years?//

It wasn't necessary. This requirement has been widely publicised and the details are provided on all airlines' booking sites. But even now, as you pointed out this morning, there are still some people who cannot be bothered to read:

https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Travel/Question1837355.html




It's not a "Brexit Benefit", but what is a benefit is seeing the UK revert to being a normal (i.e. non-EU) nation.