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Original poster

Son's passport expiring - family hols in ruins

828 replies

blueshoes · 16/10/2021 21:00

Dh and I were looking forward to our family holiday in Crete, Greece for the October half term. We watched the covid-19/PCR situation closely not realising that my 15 year old son's passport has less than 3 months. Just found out today. This is our first foreign holiday since covid struck.

The government website says that for entry to Greece, your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave Greece, or any other Schengen country.

We leave on 30 October and my son's passport expires just short of 3 months on 22 January 2022. It is too late to renew his passport as we are leaving in less than a week.

Ds cannot come with us, can he? Sad We f_ked up.

Anybody recently travelled to Greece with Ryanair with less than 3 months left on their passport? Is it a bad idea to turn up and chance it or bite the bullet now and plan on the basis ds cannot go.

OP posts:
CecilieRose · 18/10/2021 23:01

@23minutesfromTulseHill

'first foreign holiday since covid'

I reckon bitterness and jealousy about someone else possibly getting to have a foreign holiday underlies much of the criticism of OP on this thread. Backed up by the 'my 175-month-old still needs me there before he will settle' contingent.
I have visions of this kid trying to look nonchalant while kicking a suspiciously passport-shaped packet under the doormat on Thursday morning.

100%

It's all so odd. Most 15-year-olds I know would much rather hang out with their mates than go on a family holiday. I actually think it's a bit weird that the 18 and 15 year olds were invited/included in the first place - I certainly wasn't going on family holidays with my parents at that age! At 18 I was working in a bar in Ibiza for the summer! I was staying with relatives abroad at 14-15, flying alone. The idea that an entire family would miss out on a holiday because of an older teenager having a passport issue is completely bizarre to me.

DdraigGoch · 18/10/2021 23:07

@ShuddaBeenMe

I'm sure one of the other parents will have the sense to let the school know. As a safeguarding lead we would want to know this and would absolutely investigate.

He's 15.

With all of the sexual harassment going in in schools, haven't you got better things to do than worry about a fifteen year old having a few sleepovers?
youvegottenminuteslynn · 18/10/2021 23:15

It depends on the child and you know that child best.

I would have been completely trustworthy and reliable at this age.

My brother would have turned the family home into an illegal rave Grin

I would ask a parent of a close friend you really trust if they are happy to be nominated responsible adult but make it clear there's no pressure to do so and that you're undecided as to whether to go so they don't feel pressured.

I would not go for the different person / family a night, but one for 3 nights and one for four / two for two if possible.

I would ask him to call from the landline each evening with a responsible adult so you can hear it's all under control.

Lots of well behaved, responsible kids would relish the chance to be parent free and prove themselves to be deserving of parental trust.

YOU know him best. I don't think you deserve some of the vitriol you've received.

Let us know how you get on!

madisonbridges · 18/10/2021 23:45

@23minutesfromTulseHill

What I wrote, perfectly accurate

Really not. Any decent copy editor would, at the current date, be on your opening sentence like a rat up a drainpipe.
'The UK is not like other EU countries within the Schengen zone where you residents or nationals of another Schengen state can enter using an ID card which is hard not to keep valid.'

Accuracy =/= pettiness.

Why are you using the Schengen zone? It's not applicable in this situation. Residents of EU countries within the Schengen zone can use ID cards to travel to EU countries inside and outside the Schengen zone. Residents of EU countries outside the Schengen zone can use their ID cards to travel to EU countries both inside and outside of the Schengen zone. Your post doesn't make sense. Maybe as a copywriter you should spend less time up drainpipes! 😂
olidora63 · 19/10/2021 00:05

I have run this thread with my children…they are older now but have all agreed that this Mums approach is excellent.👏

HannibalHayeski · 19/10/2021 01:30

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

LoveGrooveDanceParty · 19/10/2021 02:26

I am wondering if many posters on this thread have ever met a 15YO lad. Or more pertinently, ever taken any notice of what they think and feel.

madisonbridges · 19/10/2021 02:53

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Quotes deleted post

sunglassesonthetable · 19/10/2021 07:30

*I'm sure one of the other parents will have the sense to let the school know. As a safeguarding lead we would want to know this and would absolutely investigate.

He's 15.*

@ShuddaBeenMe

Once you'd investigated, ( after the half term ) what would you come up with? Where would you go with this?

sunglassesonthetable · 19/10/2021 07:32

it's not really surprising that such sophisticated arguments caused remain to lose the referendum.

😂😂😂 it's all on this thread

Inastatus · 19/10/2021 08:41

@LoveGrooveDanceParty

I am wondering if many posters on this thread have ever met a 15YO lad. Or more pertinently, ever taken any notice of what they think and feel.
@LoveGrooveDanceParty - 15 year old boys are not a homogeneous group! They are individuals with their own thoughts and feelings. Some would be absolutely fine with what the OP is proposing. My own 15 year old DS still enjoys family holidays and would hate to be left out.
Fetarabbit · 19/10/2021 08:44

Wow there's a lot of drama and overreaction on this thread! Yes it's not great that the date wasn't checked, but as he is 15 and not a young child, surely he could have also checked his passport? If he is happy to stay with friends then at that age whats the issue? It's not home alone where OP has waltzed off without telling him or making sure there are plans in place. Hopefully the passport will be sorted, but safeguarding, really?!

berlinbabylon · 19/10/2021 08:51

It's all so odd. Most 15-year-olds I know would much rather hang out with their mates than go on a family holiday. I actually think it's a bit weird that the 18 and 15 year olds were invited/included in the first place - I certainly wasn't going on family holidays with my parents at that age

Surely it depends on your friendship circle! I was in my early 20s before I had friends who had the money and inclination to come on holiday with me. And no way would I have left my 15 year old at home on his own while we went away. He was happy to come as long as there was wifi and a decent breakfast buffet.

berlinbabylon · 19/10/2021 08:56

Therefore, this issue has been caused by the changes that came into play following Brexit

Yes, but it is still completely ridiculous that we pay for a passport for 10 years and it's only valid for 9.5 (and this was the case for non-EU countries before Brexit). Although people are saying 3 months, the UK government guidance says you should have 6 as individual border guards may refuse entry if it's less than 6. My husband's passport was due to expire in March and he has had to renew it already.

Peregrina · 19/10/2021 09:03

Yes, but it is still completely ridiculous that we pay for a passport for 10 years and it's only valid for 9.5 (and this was the case for non-EU countries before Brexit).

Was that the logic behind adding the extra months on if you renewed up to nine months early- so you would get your ten years worth?

Coogee · 19/10/2021 11:36

Yes, but it is still completely ridiculous that we pay for a passport for 10 years

If we paid for a passport to be valid for 9.5 years, we would only be able to use it for 9.

It isn’t that hard a concept to grasp. You could get stranded in a foreign country for any number of reasons. Should that happen, not unreasonably, most countries want your passport to still be valid while you are there.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 19/10/2021 12:14

@berlinbabylon - I believe the reduction in longevity of the passport has only occurred since Brexit. I fell foul of the "must have 6m left on your passport" rule in 2001, when I was travelling to a country that required that - I hadn't realised, as, in discussions with my travel agent, when she asked me about my passport, I said I had to renew it before I travelled so she never told me the 6m rule. Turned out my passport was valid for longer than I thought - but not long enough, and I only had 4m left on it.
Got turned away - went up to Petty France to hand it in, got it back 3 days later and it was for 10 years from the date it was due to expire, so a full extra 10 years, not the date at which I had renewed it.

I don't know if that changed for non-EU countries between 2001 and Brexit as I never let it happen again - but I do know that when I changed my passport to my married name in 2009, it was again for the full 10 years, despite doing it prior to expiry.

So as far as I can see, it's only since Brexit, and the demands of the EU countries, that the lifespan of the passport has reduced from 10 years. Happy to be informed otherwise - but yes, Brexit has a lot to answer for in terms of EU country travel.

londonmummy1966 · 19/10/2021 13:45

I have visions of this kid trying to look nonchalant while kicking a suspiciously passport-shaped packet under the doormat on Thursday morning.

This...

I wish I could say I can't believe the bashing you've had on here OP but I can I'm afraid as there seems to be a parallel world of parenting on MN. I remember a thread a while ago where the OP was convinced that she would be negligent to allow her Yr 11 to take the train to London for a day trip with 2 school friends. The idea that a London Yr 11 had probably been taking themselves to school everyday since Yr on London public transport was totally alien ....

I think that you have come up with a number of sensible solutions to a difficult situation. The fact that your son has been party to that conversation and has worked out an acceptable alternative for himself is testament to good rather than negligent parenting skills. I'd feel proud of him and ignore the pearl clutchers.

antsinyourpanta · 19/10/2021 16:24

It's all so odd. Most 15-year-olds I know would much rather hang out with their mates than go on a family holiday. I actually think it's a bit weird that the 18 and 15 year olds were invited/included in the first place - I certainly wasn't going on family holidays with my parents at that age

I think my 15 year old would far rather hang out with friends than me. But if the option was a warm beach hol and staying with mates in the UK in autumn, she would definitely put up with her parents (and whatsapp friends from the beach)

Peregrina · 19/10/2021 16:47

I remember a thread a while ago where the OP was convinced that she would be negligent to allow her Yr 11 to take the train to London for a day trip with 2 school friends.

But it would be very different for someone who lived in London for years, and had been making journeys around London since their Secondary school days, and for someone coming from another town who had never been to London before.

londonmummy1966 · 19/10/2021 17:55

@Peregrina But why would a parent be negligent? Why can't 3 NT 15/16 year old girls be expected to read a map/follow directions on their phones (more likely) and negotiate the Tube? I wouldn't expect a 15 year old not living in London to negotiate the capital as efficiently as one who lived here but I would expect a parent to allow their child to do something at 16 which London children are expected to do at 11.

Peregrina · 19/10/2021 18:12

londonmummy - it would depend on the child concerned and how anxious the parent was. For me growing up Manchester was the nearest big city. My parents would let me go there with a friend, for other friends they wouldn't even dream of asking because the answer would be a big no.Yet my cousin lived there and presumably got around the city with no problem.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 19/10/2021 18:43

On her first trip to London by public transport my eleven-year-old daughter guided her godmother through the London tube system unerringly from arrival at Paddington to their destination in I think it was Leytonstone, once she'd been shown how to read the tube map. I don't see why a fifteen-year-old should be so very much less competent.

SpicyTool75 · 19/10/2021 19:41

I reckon bitterness and jealousy about someone else possibly getting to have a foreign holiday underlies much of the criticism of OP on this thread. Backed up by the 'my 175-month-old still needs me there before he will settle' contingent.
I have visions of this kid trying to look nonchalant while kicking a suspiciously passport-shaped packet under the doormat on Thursday morning

This

Hope you get sorted OP, we've all either fucked up with passport expiry dates or had nightmares about fucking up with passport expiry dates
The hysteria on here is ridiculous, as for the PP who called you vile Confused

Roundlampshade · 19/10/2021 20:14

Did the OP get the passport in time?