Aibu to remind you all to check your passports

[Theimpossiblegirl]

Just that really. Every year we have the panic as holidays draw near and people realise they have expired.
I just renewed mine and dds but hadn't realised mine needed doing until I checked.
Online is cheaper now too.
If posting this saves just one person getting to that awful panic of trying to get it done last minute I'll be happy. :)

Check you EHIC too

And many countries require a passport that still has at least six months to run.

Yes I was going to mention EHICs - smugly renewed our passports at the start of the year (the passport office now helpfully send you a text reminder 3 months before they're due to expire) but checked our EHICs at the weekend and they run out at the end of April!

I renewed mine online, including using a selfie for the photo. It was quick and easy and back in 10 days.
Did mine before the recent price rise too smug

EHIC is a good point. Do they have expiry dates? I think ours are in the safe and I can't get to it just now.

You can renew up to 9 months before expiration. Left over time gets added to the new passport.

Ehic lasts a few years but do expire. Watch our for rogue websites charging for them.

EHIC is five years, and we got ours since the 4yo was born so I'm relaxing. Ish.

👏👏👏

I think EHIC cards last for 5 yrs ? I applied for ours last year to be told we where already covered from our application in 2015.

Thank you!

< trots off to dig them out >

I will do actually 2 weeks away and I’m so unprepared!!

EHIC take about 10 working days to get to you. i applied for renewals yesterday and we're on holiday in two weeks so I really hope they get here!
As long as you've applied for them however you can take the phone number for DWP with you if you don't have the actual cards yet and you're still covered.

Yes, I was going to say as a pp did that the passport office now send out text reminders a few months before the UK passport is due to expire. Very helpful.

I’ve just done the dc’s. Nearly £200 😳

The passport office sent me the helpful "don't forget to renew" text last week...on the day my new passport arrived

Agree about EHIC too. Ours had run out. Took about 10 days to come through so you should be OK nadine

Dh's expired in about 2010. Dd1's expired a year ago, Dd2's is in application. Neither me nor ds have one.

It’s a horrific price to renew, ours have expired...it’s such a nuisance, renewal should be much cheaper, it’s yet another rip off!

Thank you my hubby just realised the other day his needs renewing and we go away in August

Worth remarking that some more glamorous destinations require you to have a longer cushion on your expiry date which rather defeats the object of having an expiry date in the first place. So your passport might still be comfortably in date but too old for the holiday you're planning.

Also don't forget about visa and ESTA applications.

Thank you. :)

We got caught out with passports a few years back and it was incredibly stressful (it was DS1's passport and they don't offer same-day renewals for children, they're always posted to the address - ours turned up 4pm on the day we were due to fly - at 5pm).

Timely reminder OP. I'm militant about ours now.

This happened to me - need 6 months left to go away in January, and my passport expired 2 days before the 6 months. Panic stations but was able to go to the Passport Office in London, and new passport received a couple of days later (but did cost me an arm and a leg). They were very good there, and I was in and out in about 15 minutes.