Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Child’s passport only has 2 months on it. Flying to Spain on Saturday!

668 replies

olympicsrock · 15/02/2022 10:39

Help!!!
Just discovered that my 10 year old son’s passport only has 2 months left on it. We have flights booked to go to Spain on Saturday. .

Has anyone travelled to Spain on this situation recently? What happened?? Were you refused permission to board the plane?
I have phoned the passport office . There is absolutely no way to get a passport for him in the next 10 days as need to do face to face for child renewal , no appointments til next week abs then a week to deliver by post.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Louisianagumbo · 15/02/2022 11:53

@User1isnotavailable
I waited at the Liverpool passport office and went back in to collect the passport later. It wasn't posted to me.

That's now only available for adults and not for children.

JivingSince1982 · 15/02/2022 11:54

@olympicsrock I was in your exact scenario in the summer with my DC - keep the fast track appointments tab open on your laptop, phone, PC, and anyone else's device who could look for you, and just keep refreshing. Alternative, earlier appointments usually go on (night time was most common for them to load new appointments). You can move your appointment up to 2 days before at no charge.

I'm in London but I travelled to the Peterborough office for a Monday lunchtime appointment. DC's passport came through the letterbox on Friday.

Good luck, you have my sympathies. It's very stressful.

650above · 15/02/2022 11:54

Also, post Brexit your passport needs to be stamped in and out to make sure that you haven't spent more time than allowed in the Schengen zone (90 days in 180 day period is the limit for Brits now). So quite a few changes really.

Original poster
olympicsrock · 15/02/2022 11:55

Don’t you ever say things like Bloody Boris or Bloody Brexit??!!
Some people here are patronising ***

OP posts:
AlternativePerspective · 15/02/2022 11:55

This has nothing to do with Brexit. You have always been required to have a valid passport to travel, even to EU countries.

And yes. The OP is rude. Obviously it’s probably because she’s annoyed at herself for not bothering to check that her son’s passport was in date, and because of her they may need to either cancel or change the holiday. But the law is the law. It’s nobody else’s fault that she didn’t bother until now.

pancakesandsyrupplease · 15/02/2022 11:56

Brexit. The gift that keeps on giving Sad

caringcarer · 15/02/2022 11:57

I don't know if it is still the case but my dh took D's to London several years ago for emergency appointment as ex had kept child's passport from previous holiday with him and so I had not noticed it was due to expire. He went in morning with letter from me signed requesting his SD be given new passport for my son. He collected it about 4 hours later. Took son to NHM to see dinosaur skeleton. Son now grown up maintains that was next bit of holiday.

JuergenSchwarzwald · 15/02/2022 11:57

This has nothing to do with Brexit. You have always been required to have a valid passport to travel, even to EU countries

Sigh. It has everything to do with Brexit. Before Brexit the OP's child would have been able to make the trip with two months left.

Since Brexit you need 3/6 months left depending on who you ask/the mood of the border guard concerned/Ryanair's capriciousness.

pancakesandsyrupplease · 15/02/2022 11:58

@AlternativePerspective

This has nothing to do with Brexit. You have always been required to have a valid passport to travel, even to EU countries.

And yes. The OP is rude. Obviously it’s probably because she’s annoyed at herself for not bothering to check that her son’s passport was in date, and because of her they may need to either cancel or change the holiday. But the law is the law. It’s nobody else’s fault that she didn’t bother until now.

You're incorrect. The 6 month rule is for those outside of the EU. Before brexit, we would have bern fine to travel within the EU without 6 months left, but not if we were travelling to somewhere outside of it. So yes, it is absolutely to do with Brexit.
VanGoghsDog · 15/02/2022 11:58

Ex and I took dss (pre Brexit etc) to France on an expired passport.

We only noticed that morning. The checks at the tunnel crossing are less stringent. So I don't know if you can drive to Spain?

I have no idea if things have been tightened up since Brexit. But I was 100% sure we would never have got through by plane or boat.

We were stopped on the way back, they checked against some list and then told us off but that was it. No issue at all on the way out. They didn't even look at the passports.

JuergenSchwarzwald · 15/02/2022 11:58

and the OP was not rude - she just asked people not to tell what she can read for herself

lapasion · 15/02/2022 11:58

While the passport service say it takes a week to deliver, it only took two days when we did a face to face. Of course, you can’t rely on that as a definite, but they seem to be pretty fast. It’s not peak time so you might get lucky.

Original poster
olympicsrock · 15/02/2022 11:59

Thanks Jiving…. Just seeing that the appointments available do change so I will keep checking.
Prob the best I can hope for.

Trying to come up with a plan B, C and D.
B - DH and DS2 go and DS1 And I try to join them for the last few days if passport arrives?
C Three of us go and DS to stay with best friend??
D All stay at home ??

OP posts:
notimagain · 15/02/2022 12:00

whether it would be worth attempting to travel on the understanding that two of us would then travel home if he was refused entry ( which is know is highly probable)

As others have correctly said the airline is responsible for policing document requirements, so they are not knowing going to allow somebody to “have a go”..

Also things might get even more complicated for the airline if the return flight is full and they then have to accommodate one? Two? Three? additional passengers.

Louisianagumbo · 15/02/2022 12:01

Pre Brexit, you could travel until your passport was out of date. Now the UK is a third country, you need 6 months validity before you go and a lot of people have been caught out by this change. So yes, another Brexit bonus.

This is rubbish. People always had to check their passports for the expiry date, it's just now for the EU it's 3 months earlier. The op didn't check the passport and think: oh I can travel up to the last day. She just didn't check the passport. Period. I got caught out similarly when going to Australia. I just hadn't checked when my passport was up. Why can't people take responsibility for their own mistake rather than blame brexit, which happened two years ago and over which there's been a zillion warnings given.

Monkeytapper · 15/02/2022 12:02

Option E, speak to travel agent and move holiday to June school hols or Summer holidays

Monkeytapper · 15/02/2022 12:03

Or Easter

ChittyBangs · 15/02/2022 12:03

I would try and move the holiday tbh.

Notwithittoday · 15/02/2022 12:05

The office is in Liverpool. Can you go there?

whynotwhatknot · 15/02/2022 12:05

its not brexit fault that you didnt check your passports when you booked a holiday oe even in the last few weeks

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 15/02/2022 12:06

@650above

Also, post Brexit your passport needs to be stamped in and out to make sure that you haven't spent more time than allowed in the Schengen zone (90 days in 180 day period is the limit for Brits now). So quite a few changes really.
None of which makes the slightest difference to the need to check your passport expiry date before booking.
thunderonlyhappenswhenits · 15/02/2022 12:06

This is just Gona cause nothing but stress. I'd pay the fee and move the holiday if possible. You can't leave ds while you all go on holiday poor lad will be devastated

MargaretFromAccts · 15/02/2022 12:07

It isn't really fair that he has to stay with a mate because his parents didn't bother / forgot to check the validity of his passport. Mistakes do happen but it's not very nice for him missing out on a family experience so I wouldn't consider option C at all.

pancakesandsyrupplease · 15/02/2022 12:07

@Louisianagumbo

Pre Brexit, you could travel until your passport was out of date. Now the UK is a third country, you need 6 months validity before you go and a lot of people have been caught out by this change. So yes, another Brexit bonus.

This is rubbish. People always had to check their passports for the expiry date, it's just now for the EU it's 3 months earlier. The op didn't check the passport and think: oh I can travel up to the last day. She just didn't check the passport. Period. I got caught out similarly when going to Australia. I just hadn't checked when my passport was up. Why can't people take responsibility for their own mistake rather than blame brexit, which happened two years ago and over which there's been a zillion warnings given.

Pre-Brexit this thread wouldn't have been necessary because this child's passport would still have been valid for travel. Yes of course we need to keep an eye on expiry dates but it's just not true to say Brexit hasn't made the situation more challenging.
Geezabreak82 · 15/02/2022 12:07

I worked in immigration law and policy and there is quite a bit of misinformation in this thread which isn’t helping OP or anyone in a similar position reading this in future.

Sadly your child will not be allowed to board OP because of the Carriers Liability (under UK and EU) which means a airline will be fined for allowing a passenger to travel without proper documentation. They will definitely check passport dates at departure.

Pre-Brexit we could travel within the European Union up until the last day of passport validity so this is a Brexit issue.

At time of posting there is an appointment in Belfast tomorrow and Glasgow on Thursday for the one week service but those aren’t much help unless you’re willing to shell out for flights your child and an adult to join the holiday in the second half of next week. In your situation I’d speak to the travel operator and negotiate a change of dates. Good luck.