Passport Help

[chrisuk013]

I want to take a little trip before the end of the year ie in september. Only want to go somewhere in europe, however i have an a little issue... my passport expiry date which is 14/12/24. 

 

Which country would accept me given the little time left on the passport? 

 

Thanks

[smurfchops]

Thanks Barry you are a star.  They have my bank details so I presume they will automatically renew.  Am I the only person who doesn't want to do everything online?  It must be my age ... 

[smurfchops]

So sorry this was meant for another post!!  

[Etch]

chrisuk013 - what is the ISSUE DATE of the passport?

[Gettingonabit]

If you went to Spain you'd  need to be out of Spain with 3 mths  left on your passport. So to be sure I'd  say 13th September. 

What is the actual  issue date of your passport?  If like me you had a reissue then any added months are lost.  The 10 years are only  from the date of issue. My reissue was October  2015 and states expiry  date 2026. But unfortunately  its October 2025.  Better check yours  too.  You need to  arrive in Spain within 10 years of issue date too.

I'm  only  saying Spain because  I have been checking it out for myself.  

It's  no longer straightforward  to just look at the printed dates unfortunately.

[Buenchico]

The nominal expiry date on your passport might not be its actual expiry date.  Indeed, it might already have expired as far as entry into the EU is concerned. 

That's because, when renewing a UK passport under the old rules, any unexpired time on your old one (up to a maximum of 9 months) was automatically added to the validity of the new one.  (i.e. a '10 year' passport could actually be valid for anything up to 10 years and 9 months).  

However the EU now longer recognises any period of validity that exceeds 10 years from the date of issue.  So, for example, if your current passport was issued on 15/06/14, when you still had 6 months of validity left on your old one, its nominal expiry date shown will be (as you say) 14/12/24.  However, as far as entry into the EU is concerned, the actual expiry date of your passport was 14/06/24.

Assuming though that the above problem doesn't apply to you (i.e. that the issue date of your passport was 15/12/14), your passport will be valid for travel to the EU as long as there's still 3 months left on it when you exit the EU.  So your trip will need to be within the first fortnight of September, allowing you to visit any EU country (and, indeed, most other European countries too).

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-nationals/index_en.htm

If though you've fallen foul on the new ruling on 'extended validity' (as above), or you're unable to travel within the first fortnight of September, then your passport won't be valid to any EU country (with the exception of the Republic of Ireland, of course, where separate arrangements apply).

Further, some non-EU countries (such as Norway and Switzerland) also follow Schengen area rules, meaning that everything above applies to them as well.  Even countries which haven't actually signed up to following the Schengen area rules often have their own rules which closely mirror those of the Schengen territories or can be even stricter.

You can use this link to check the entry requirements of any country in the world but I've been unable to find any 'tourist friendly' countries within Europe that don't require 3 months (or longer) validity on a passport:
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

[Gettingonabit]

With luck your passport is still valid. Have  you managed to book a holiday? 

[New Judge]

It's simple. There are two dates you need to check:

1. The issue date. This must be no more than ten years prior to your date of arrival in the EU.

2. The expiry date. This must be no earlier than three months after your planned date of departure from the EU.

[Gettingonabit]

New judge, its knowing exactly  what your  expiry  date is that's the problem.  Its not straightforward.   My printed expiry  date  is June 2026 but the actual  expiry date is October  2025. 10 years after it was reissued.