To be upset for these families turned back at the airport

[TarasHarp55]

I've just read about another family turned back at the airport because some of the passports weren't valid anymore. I know it's their fault that they hadn't realised they now needed six months more than their expiry but hell we're all human we make mistakes.

This was a family with little children all excited for their holiday, months of saving and preparation. I'd have been tempted to turn a blind eye. I don't think I could bear to refuse them., and hopefully not get into trouble for it. Anyone else feel like this?

No they stopped adding on the extra time a few years ago so the problem will go away at some point.

Oh no, don't worry, you really are. Lots of schools in France, for example, are not organising school trips to the UK, because you are treating EU citizens just like the rest of the world. Ireland of course, isn't. Neither is Malta. So other options are out there, thankfully, for other places to spend money.

No they stopped adding extra months a few years ago. They did it sneakily without telling anyone about it

Lol. Obviously it's not all that straightforward given that the clowns on here going on about how straightforward it is are all contradicting each other.

Anyway yanbu OP. It's shitty when people can't do things because of red tape.

If they voted Remain, they have my sympathy. If they voted Leave, fuck them.

@Norush4 It is flagged up when you book. As a PP has just pointed out.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2018/09/passport-applicants-hit-out-after-being-given-shorter-than-expec/

Happened in 2018 but people weren't told about it

In my experience, it usually is flagged up when travelling internationally because you have to submit Advance Passenger Information (API) online with the airline. It’s anytime after you book, but anytime before online check in. So you can book, and then do the API. API consists of all travellers nationality and passport info- number, country of issue, and expiry date. The website then flags up a warning if your passport dates mean it won’t be valid for travel on that trip. So you can then amend your booking or renew your passport. Perhaps if they did API during booking that would be even better.

It doesn’t flag up passports valid for more than ten years which was a U.K. oddity and the U.K. has actually stopped doing that. They no longer add extra months on. They all now expire ten years after issue date (or 5 yrs if a child passport). So this will self correct over time as people renew their passports.

That’s not true imho. EU travellers can still go in same passport control fast track queue as British citizens when entering the U.K.

*Oh and Malta and Ireland are part of the EU? So not sure what you can mean by that?

Nope.... don't feel sorry for them at all!

Because when the passports were issued there would not have been an issue with it - any passport issued post September 2018 do not have the extra months added.

So by 2028 it wont be an issue but you have to ge tall the passports through the process which takes time.

That said this has been flagged as a potential issue since 2018

Brexit wasn’t a chosen option, deciept of lies, and false monies for nhs

DH and I went to Benidorm for his 21st back in 2003 for a last minute long weekend along with some friends. We booked it (in a travel agents!) on the Tuesday and flew out Thursday. Whilst in the TA, we spotted a friend had less than 3 months on his passport. We debated doing the same day renewal thing but being cavalier 19 and 20 year olds, decided to chance it.

No-one picked us up on the way out, but at Passport Control in Spain on our return (going into departures), the guy wasn't happy about it. We did say 'we're literally leaving the country today' and he grudgingly let us through. Friend wouldn't have got in if he'd been on the inbound gate.

We were still part of the EU in 2003. It was still 3 months validity then as that was the Spanish rule.

Different countries have different Passport control standards. DH and I have just returned from Latvia. Passport control was very stern and DH had to provide the address of our accommodation. I heard the group in the next queue doing the same. All passports were heavily scrutinised. And ours expire in 2029 and 2030 respectively, so sufficient time on both. It was equally stern on our return.

I do feel for those turned away. Particularly if they have children. But you can guarantee that that will never happen to them again.

i was always under the impression that you needed 6 months left on your passport to travel anywhere.

0 sympathy here.

@RhubarbFairy up until brexit Spain would actually accept you in with a passport that had been expired up to one year! It’s strange they should care when you’re actively leaving but some countries do seem to scrutinise you as you leave. I’ve had this in France and Portugal too. Ironically I hadn’t even shown my passport on entry to France.

You were under the wrong impression then!

Nope and you still dont

US is still only need to be valid for the duration (and have put that to the test on multiple occasions

Some places have though

That wasn’t and still isn’t true but a lot of travel agents just said that as it was the worst case scenario. Or because they couldn’t be bothered to look it up. Ultimately it was and is the passenger’s responsibility to ensure they have the correct and necessary documents for their travel.

There’s been so much of this in the press etc for months now, it can’t have been news to them surely unless they’ve been living under a rock.

whatwouldsueheckdo Exactly. Half of the people on this thread would probably be turned away at the airport! They think that as long as they have "6 months or more left on your passport", they are fine!

Brexit. Unfortunately this is where we are and we all have to read up on the rules.

Based on what we were told prior to travel back then, I always went by the 3 month rule, so never checked again. Interesting to know it wasn't actually true.

I went abroad 4 times with the Guides in the 90s. On two of those trips we crossed three countries by coach. Every single border control, someone would get on and stand at the front and we all had to hold our passports in the air and that was good enough. My friends were on their mums passport (remember those days) so they didn't even have passports to hold up on the first trip (she was travelling with us).

So I’m travelling to an EU country (Spain) in a few days and thought it was 3 months, the official government website says you need 3 months, not 6. And it has to be less than 10 years old. We will be ok, but just wondering, when did the 6 month rule come in? No wonder people get caught out!

This is the control the Brexit bastards voters wanted, so here we are - more red tape, pointless rule changes.