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?

It really depends - some places need 6 months (Mauritius for example I think) other places need length of stay (US and Caribbean for example). Some have always needed 3 months (Canada/MExico I think)

The EU used to just be length of stay - Brexit has changed that to 3 months for the most part and within 10 years.

Nowhere needs more than 6 months, so if you have more than 6 months (unless it is the extra months) you dont need to check

Otherwise you should be checking the requirements

This is nothing new.

Watch old episodes of Airline. It happens every single day.

It's a sixth month rule for a lot of countries outside Europe isn't it?

I just hope none of you lot with empathy bypasses work on passport control. The rules can't be bent but no need to be a pompous know it all about it and label people as idiots that deserve to lose their holiday.

It just makes you sound like an arsehole.

Most of the comments on this thread are berating the travellers, and most are also giving incorrect info! The 3/6 month extra validity has always been a rule, yes, BUT the problem now is that your passport had to be less than 10 years old, regardless of expiry date.

Canada and Mexico and Mauritius only require that your passport is valid for the length of your visit. They have no 10 year rule for passports either - this is particular to EU travel.

And yes, some people are acting like arseholes on this thread

You didn't used to need extra months for EU travel so the 3 month validity is an extra issue alongside the 10 year rule

I feel sorry for those people who voted remain that have to put up with the extra costs and bureaucratic of Brexit.

Bureaucracy.

I feel sorry for them too OP, although I don't agree that they should just be allowed to board the plane - the rules are the rules - god it must suck though if you're one of the families that are affected.

I was reading an article at the weekend about a family on their way to Turkey. All passports valid, but two not valid for at least six months after return date and apparently that's what Turkey requires.

Of course, it's up to travellers to check this stuff before they travel, but bloody hell, more than six months' validity on a DC passport that is only valid for 5 years anyway and coming out of a pandemic the owner of that passport has lost two years of that validity anyway? Argh! The writer of her article said she lay on her bedroom floor and cried when she got home. I would've done too

Exactly, and I hate it

Correction: Turkey requires that you have at least six months validity on your UK passport from the date you ARRIVE in the country, not the date you leave.

True, but a little harsh perhaps. There are still some people who don't realise that even if the expiry date on their passport is February 2023, it may nevertheless be invalid for travel.

The crucial date is not the expiry date but the issue date. The passport must have been issued no more than 9.5 years ago.

YANBU

We went to an EU country at Easter. I checked and double checked entry requirements, using the UK government website and info from the country I was travelling to. Everything said 3 months.

It didn't say anything different when we booked the flights, nor when we checked in online and gave our passport details.

When we were at the airport a notification came up on my Ryanair app that we needed 6 months. The kids were only a couple of weeks over that, we were sooo close to being unable to travel.

I still don't know what the right info is, as the govt website still says 3 months 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thye have different agreements with the UK though. For IReland UK its CTA rules not EU rules.

*I just hope none of you lot with empathy bypasses work on passport control. The rules can't be bent but no need to be a pompous know it all about it and label people as idiots that deserve to lose their holiday.

It just makes you sound like an arsehole*

I agree. Especially as a lot of the people on this thread are spouting off about how travellers should know the rules, and then proceed to give incorrect information on what the rules actually are.

I really feel for some families who have been turned away, it must be gutting. I read yesterday about a man who went to the airport to travel with his passport that had an expiry date of March 2023, but it turned out to be invalid for travel. I can certainly see how he didn't even think to check if this was ok. Very harsh not to feel sympathy for him.

You're fine @Worryworry887 if travelling to an EU country, where is rule is three months. A few other countries though require six months validity.

@LongBlobson Ryanair and Easyjet both made this mistake and were turning people away from their flights if they didn't have six months validity for EU travel, despite that being wrong! Travel journalist Simon Calder made it his mission to correct them, but Ryanair still hadn't updated their website with the correct information (i.e. 3 months) when I last saw a tweet from him on the subject.

Although they have let me in when I had less than 6 months on mine. That was pre Brexit though.

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Finally

The EU has clarified to the UK government that the two rules are independent, and the actual rules for Europe are:

1. It must be less than 10 years old on the day you enter the Schengen area (check the ‘date of issue’ printed in the passport)

2. It must be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’ printed in the passport)(note that you do NOT calculate an expiry date as 10 years from day of issue)

For example, if your passport is valid from 25th April 2013 and it expires 17th October 2023, then the passport can be used to enter a Schengen country up to and including 24th April 2023, and it can be used to leave that country up to and including 17th July 2023.

Unfortunately, several airlines mistakenly applied tighter restrictions than were needed and have been turning away passengers with valid passports. Under pressure from the press, almost all the airlines have realised their mistake and changed their rules (some just this week) to suit the regulations. Some passengers who were denied boarding by the airlines even though they had valid passports are launching claims for compensation and expectations are that their claims will be successful.

Countries outside Schengen have their own rules, some may require 6 months remaining validity, and some (eg. Ireland) require none.

It’s not nice for them but do you expect them to be let into a country with an expired passport? Really?
Glad your job is not border control!

This...

The personnel doing so would doing this illegally... even if they are small kids and it is heartbreaking...

No-one's expecting to be let into a country on an expired passport. Merely expecting the airline to follow the actual rules and let them in on a valid passport for their destination instead of turning them away due to their own stricter, and incorrect, interpretation.

I bet there's some people on this thread who think that there was a time limit on exercise and frequency limit on shopping trips during the first lockdown too.

I can't feel sorry for people who fail to plan their international travel correctly. This includes the most obvious and important detail - to check the bloody expiry dates on the passports!

I know that, but the posters point was that for travellers from France, the U.K. is treating EU travellers like third country travellers so they’re going to Ireland and Malta instead who don’t. As Ireland and Malta are part of the EU, they would obviously not be treating fellow EU travellers as third country travellers? Secondly the U.K. isn’t treating any EU travellers as third country travellers as they go in the same fast track passport queue at border control as British passport holders.

The UK can't treat anyone as TCN's, thats a term specific to the EU! It doesn't make any sense with regard to the UK. And also queues, everyone none UK is the same now, unless you set up UK only queues what is the point?