1.5 Million British Passports Would Be Invalid With No-Deal Brexit
Spain News
Published: 27 January 2019 22:39 CET
Updated: 27 January 2019 23:39 CET
Some holidaymakers won’t have valid passports if there is less than 15 months before expiration.
Another impact of a no-deal Brexit will mean that as many as 1.5 million British holidaymakers will not be able to travel this summer if they have less than 15 months before the expiration of their passports. This means that if a no-deal Brexit takes place, and Britain leaves the EU on the 29th March 2019 without a deal, then millions of Brits will be unable to travel this summer.
The UK government has recently announced that some passports which have 15 months or less validity will not be accepted to travel across the EU. This includes popular tourist destinations such as Spain and France, which some tourists may have already booked a holiday for. This is likely only to happen if the UK exits without a deal.
Early government advice was that passports would need to have at least six months before expiration. This has now been extended to 15 months in the event of a no deal, due to an issue of passport renewal.
Passports issued within ten years
The issue that affects British travellers is that visitors from a non-EU country to countries in the Schengen area must have a passport that has been issued in the last ten years. In Britain, the prior passport system meant that if you renewed your passport early, the remaining validity (up to nine months) would be added to the new passport. This means that any period beyond ten years on a passport will not be eligible to travel in Schengen Areas.
So if the passport has ten years and nine months validity and a passport needs six months of validity to be accepted into EU countries, then those with more than ten years on their passport means they’ll need up to 15 months validity on their passport in order to travel.
The Home Office believes this will affect 3.5 million British passports and they predict 1.5 million of these passport holders will travel in spring/summer 2019.
Passengers who do not have a valid passport will not be able to travel. They will also be unable to claim on their travel insurance and will not be able to get a refund for their flight.
Is my passport valid?
To check if your passport is valid, the UK government has set up an online tool. The Home Office is predicting a spike in the number of people applying for a passport, so make sure to renew your passport with plenty of time before you travel to ensure it arrives on time.
