Take a close look at your British passport before travelling to the EU

Whether you are intending on visiting the Alps for a ski trip or Paris for a romantic weekend away, as a British passport holder, your plans could be halted by this recent post-Brexit rule

In order to enter the EU, passports must be no more than ten years old, even if they appear to still be valid.

Prior to Brexit, the UK Government would issue passports for ten years, with the option of adding any additional months of validity left on your old passport, meaning that many hold UK passports valid for more than 10 years.

Hence, many who think their passports are valid because they are not due to expire for some time, may be denied entry to EU countries.

British nationals must check that the validity of the passport does not exceed a maximum period of 10 years. Any additional months on top of the 10-year validity period will no longer be valid for travel to the EU.

Whilst there is an additional requirement that your passport must be valid for at least three months after the date you intend to leave the EU country you are visiting, this is an entirely separate requirement. That is to say, when travelling to the EU there is no need to have a passport issued less than nine years, nine months ago.

Whilst the EU has made it clear that these two requirements are independent, this has been misunderstood by various bodies and airlines. As such, in order to avoid any issues, it would be wise to add an additional check to your list – checking the website of the airline you are intending to travel with to see how these requirements are implemented by them.

Please note neither of the above requirements apply for trips to Ireland.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson has extensive experience in assisting clients with British passport applications. In the event that you would like to discuss the possibility of making such an application, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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