Holidaymakers planning trips to France, Greece, Italy and Spain in the next few months have been issued a warning. Those heading on holiday have been urged to carry out a passport check before they go, as new figures suggest more than one million UK passports may not meet entry requirements.
Key passport rules for EU travel
Scots travelling to the EU Schengen zone must own a passport that was issued less than ten years before their trip begins and has at least three months' validity remaining beyond their return date.
New data revealed that over 705,000 UK passports currently have less than three months left before expiry, which would prevent travellers from boarding their flights and holidays being cancelled. An additional 350,000 were issued over ten years ago, bringing the total number of passports potentially failing entry requirements for certain overseas destinations to more than one million.
Pre-September 2018 passports
The ten year rule is especially important for those whose passports were issued prior to September 2018, the Mirror reports. Before that date, when renewing a passport, the HM Passport Office was able to transfer up to nine months of remaining validity from an old passport onto a new one, making these passports valid for 10 years and nine months.
Although these passports may technically still be valid, they can cause issues when attempting to travel to countries like Greece, Spain, Italy and France. This is due to the fact they no longer align with the Schengen Area entry requirements.
Expert advice
Tim Knighton, travel insurance expert at Compare the Market, said: "Many travellers assume if they have a valid passport they can travel overseas without any issues, but that's not always the case."
"Some countries, including many popular European destinations, require several months' validity extending beyond the length of a trip, so it's important to check the entry requirements for each destination before travelling," he explained.
He added: "With more than 700,000 UK passports now having less than three months' validity remaining, it's worth travellers taking a few minutes to check theirs before heading abroad. Renewing a passport early could help avoid unnecessary stress and reduce the risk of holiday plans being disrupted."
In total, figures from the HM Passport Office show that 2.37 million passports are set to expire during 2026.
