I don’t understand the passport thing

[Dogondoolally]

So we are due to go away in May this year and the news has been on about the 10yr rule now being enforced and catching people out.
so I don’t understand it. I know you must have at least 3 months left on passport from day you return but it’s the 10 yr thing I can’t understand.
my passport says
Issue Date June 2015
Expiry Date August 2025
so extra months, will I be able to fly ??

Yes

Your passport must:

have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the date you arrive. Passports issued after 1 October 2018 are now valid for only 10 years, but for passports issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added if you renewed a passport early
have an ‘expiry date’ at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/norway/entry-requirements

@Gurlabouttown your passport was issued in January 2015, so it expires in January 2025. You need 3 months on your passport after the day you intend to leave Norway. That means you can travel back from Norway up to the day in October 2024 that matches the day your passport expires in January 2025 (e.g. expires 18th January, can travel back until 18th October).

In short, your passport is fine.

Phew that's great thank you both! @ARichtGoodDram @Lougle

Some countries do not require any validity beyond the length of stay eg. Mexico. So it depends where you are going.

I double checked mine so many times when we went away.

I am perfectly capable of reading dates - but I was still worrying I had messed up !

What happens if you stay beyond the "3 month before the passport expires" date?

So say you arrive and plan to leave on 29th March 2024? Your passport expires on 30th June 2024 - so it's more than 3 months to go. But you decide to stay a week longer, so you leave on 2nd April 2024 - which is less than 3 months?

You are in the country already - so you can't be refused entry. You are leaving anyway, so you can't be deported. Do they just put a "black mark" in your passport?

Contrary to some of the above advice the 'extra' months that are on some passports CAN be used as the 3/6 months validity required until expiry, so long as you have made your outbound journey while the passport is still less than 10 years from issue.

Example; if my passport was issued 1 April 2014 and expires 1 August 2024 (so had 4 months added when it was issued) I could still travel to Europe tomorrow, 30th March, so long as I was coming home before 1st May. I'd be cutting it fine obviously and wouldn't recommend that, but I could.

If my passport was issued 1st March 2014 and expired 1st August 2024 I could not use it to travel to Europe now.

This is something that comes up a lot in my work and I've spent a lot of time making sure I know the rules. The 3 months until expiry is from the day you depart the country also, not from the date you arrive, so a fortnight holiday needs 3.5 months left.

Oh crikey. Mine was issued April 2014 and expires November 2024. I am due to fly to the US in two weeks time. Is it still valid or do I have an emergency on my hands?!

@cakeorwine That's why you need the 3 months. You can stay in the EU for 90 days without a visa, your passport needs to cover the full length of that, should you not leave when originally planned.

That makes sense.

My area of expertise is Europe rather than the US so I would check with the US embassy to be sure. The below link suggests only 90 days required until expiry with an ESTA but doesn't clarify if the US take extra months into account or not.

uk.usembassy.gov/visas/non-immigrant-visa-faqs/passport-and-travel-documents/#:~:text=Therefore%2C%20your%20passport%20need%20remain,the%20date%20the%20passport%20expires.

The US is different

If you are visiting the USA your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay. You don’t need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this.

Entry requirements - USA travel advice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Oh, thank you both - panic over!

It’s stupid the expiry date should be the expiry date and even if you fly with a week left as long as you’re booked to come back before the actual date it should be ok

What if you have an accident or are hospitalized? You need extra time for injuries or illness.

They don’t do it for shits and giggles.

You dont need to renew

It depends where you go. Last June, we wanted to book a holiday for July, but October last year was 10 years since the issue date, which ruled out the EU. We went to America instead, as they only require your passport to be valid for the duration of your trip.

I don't get it either...mine expires in September 2025 - will I be okay for July this year? Yes it's still in the 10 years but do the three months also get added on?!?!

And was issued Sept 2015

If you leave in July, then 3 months later is October

If your passport was issued October 2013 then you could technically travel to the EU on it in July 2023 so long as it had at least 90 days left until the expiry date by the date you came home. So it would come down to the exact dates of issue and expiry there, not just the month of.

You couldn't travel home on 31st July with a passport that expired 1st October the same year, but you could travel home 15th July on a passport that expired 31st October.

Issued in September 2015 and expiring September 2025 you can use it to travel to the EU safely until the end of May 2025 (after that it would come down to the exact date of expiry v the exact date you're booked to travel home).

It didn’t expire until 2024 but October 23 was 10 years from issue. We had to wait until school holidays to fly out.

@PotatoPudding You could have travelled up to the day before the passport's 10th 'birthday' in that case. The 3 months you need until expiry can be part of any additional months added when it was issued.

You can travel into the EU right up 9 years and 364 days after the date it was issued as long as you also have at least 3 months until expiry.

The 3 months remaining validity does not need to be within the 10 years since issue, the 2 rules are separate.

What you can't do is have a passport with 10 years and 6 months validity, and travel both out and back within those extra 6 months.

You need to check the specific rules for your destination as there are variations even within the EU. But the basic principle is to ensure your issue date is no more than 10 years before your outward travel date, while your return date is 3 or 6 months (depending on destination) before the expiry date. If unsure, better to get a new passport earlier than necessary than be refused boarding!

They changed the rules last year. You now have 10 years from date of issue as far as travelling to EU countries are concerned.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68658209.amp