Passport advice update

Travel advice for those visiting European Union countries has been updated by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in a bid to clarify the requirements for passport validity.

It follows confusion among travellers and reports of passengers being wrongly turned away by airline staff unsure of the rules.

Under the Passport validity heading, the FCDO update says that if you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, or Vatican City, you must follow the Schengen area passport requirements.

Your passport must be issued less than ten years before the date you enter the country (check the date of issue) and valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave (check the expiry date).

The FCDO points out you must check that your passport meets these requirements before you travel. If your passport was issued before1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.

If you think your passport does not meet both these requirements you are advised to contact the embassy of the country you are visiting.

The updates were issued on Thursday last week (12 May) for more than 30 European countries.

Meanwhile, the NHS has extended the validity of barcodes on Covid-19 passes to six months, so those travelling no longer need to download, print or save a new copy every 30 days.

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

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