DS14 passport renewal quandary

[EmmaStone]

DS14 has several trips booked this year, and his passport is up for renewal at the end of October. He will be away in April, then away again early July for 7-10 days (France), then another 7-10 day trip to France at the end of August. I think he needs at least 3 months on his passport to enter France, which presents an issue for the August trip. I'm concerned there won't be enough time between the two French trips to risk a renewal (will be about 1 month in between the 2).

Which leaves trying for a renewal between returning from his trip in April, and the next trip early July (giving 2 and a bit clear months). But is this too far in advance (effectively he'll lose 4-5 months of passport time as well, since you can't add on anymore)?

I'd do it now. Like others have said, the office will only get busier with possible delays as the summer gets nearer, and people start looking at passports and thinking oh shit, better get that renewed. Need to get ours done, as mine expires in April, and kids have both expired, but no plans to leave the UK for hols this year so no great hurry for us. But still on my to do list!

We’ve just renewed two child and one adult passport - took about 10 days. You also need to check the validity - due to Brexit it’s now 10 years (or five years) from date of issue if you renewed the last passport early and got the extra months added on.

I would defo do it now, losing a few months is not as bad as the worry doing with a deadline looming
Five year passport works out 81p a month so your going to lose less than a fiver and you have peace of mind it’s all sorted.

@NichyNoo

We’ve just renewed two child and one adult passport - took about 10 days. You also need to check the validity - due to Brexit it’s now 10 years (or five years) from date of issue if you renewed the last passport early and got the extra months added on.

That is only for adult passports. Children’s passports can use the extra up to 9 months as their passports are only valid for 5 years. The ruling was that no passport could be valid for more that 10 years after Brexit.

I’m not sure if this helps but because of Brexit you need to take 6 months of the expiry date of the passport now
Mine expires in March 2023 however due to Brexit it was only good till Sept 2022 for travel in the EU
Knock of 3- 6 month as you need that much to enter most EU countries and I would not been allowed to travel past April - May as I would need six months left on my passport

So I would recommend renewing it now
Lots of people have been refused flights at the airport because they aren’t aware of this change and even though they have almost a year on the passport they aren’t aware of the 6 months that’s not counted because of Brexit

I did a one day renewal and was in and out of the passport office in 15 mins a few weeks ago

I'm using issue date as expiry date, so no problems there. We are going away early April and again late April, so I only have a 2 month window to do it now - similar to my post April window (in fact, my post April window has more time).

@Iamthedom

I’m not sure if this helps but because of Brexit you need to take 6 months of the expiry date of the passport now Mine expires in March 2023 however due to Brexit it was only good till Sept 2022 for travel in the EU Knock of 3- 6 month as you need that much to enter most EU countries and I would not been allowed to travel past April - May as I would need six months left on my passport

So I would recommend renewing it now
Lots of people have been refused flights at the airport because they aren’t aware of this change and even though they have almost a year on the passport they aren’t aware of the 6 months that’s not counted because of Brexit

I did a one day renewal and was in and out of the passport office in 15 mins a few weeks ago

Its 3 months for most EU countries not 6 months

It's 3 months for France. From the entry requirements page on gov.uk:

Passport validity
If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must meet the Schengen areaa_ rules.
Your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be:
• less than 10 years old on the day you enter (check the ‘date of issue’)
• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)
We are asking the European Commission to clarify the 10-year rule. Their guidance for Schengen border guards may not be updated until the spring of 2022. Until then, for some Schengen countries your passport may need to be less than 10 years old during your whole visit, and the 3 months at the end of your visit may need to be within 10 years of your passport’s issue date.

@EmmaStone

I'm using issue date as expiry date, so no problems there. We are going away early April and again late April, so I only have a 2 month window to do it now - similar to my post April window (in fact, my post April window has more time).

You can use the actual expiry date for a child's passport, even if it has extra months added on, they are still valid. This is as it would still not be more than 10 years from date of issue. For France it needs to have 3 months or more until the expiry date on the day he returns home.

There is quite a bit of misinformation on this thread. However even airport staff can get confused and refuse travel if in doubt. I'd honestly just renew it now rather than jeopardise his future trips.

I would renew his passport asap too. Little to no point in waiting until April which is a far busier time for passport turnarounds.

@EmmaStone

I'm using issue date as expiry date, so no problems there. We are going away early April and again late April, so I only have a 2 month window to do it now - similar to my post April window (in fact, my post April window has more time).

I don't think that you can compare turnaround times now and in April. As other posters have said, May risks being a really busy month with travel opening up and extra applications from people who haven't bothered renewing their passports over the past couple of years.

Hopefully the passport ends up arriving really quickly, but the potential cost of a missed holiday or even just last minute stress completely outweighs the disadvantage of losing a couple of months' validity.

I'm still marked by my experience of applying for a first child passport in April a few years ago. It ended up taking over three months.

I would so do it now. Losing a few months, for the sake of all this hassle this year, and then knowing it's not a problem for the next few years, is so worth it.

I know a lot of people are saying they're getting it back quickly but I applied for my DS (10) passport on 9th January and we are still waiting. We're due to travel next weekend and may well have to cancel. I'd do it now OP.

I would do it now. My DS expires in September and I did it this afternoon online.. at least then you can forget about it.

My ds' i only got text stating recieved passport today- over 2 weeks after it was posted. About 2 weeks after signed for

OK, message heard loud and clear! I've applied for the new passport today. Hopefully back with us in time for our first trip on 6 April...

Good luck, OP!