Faded UK passport cover!!

[chinchillin]

Morning all,

I’m due to go away in July and just saw my passport and the cover is completely faded!! All the inside is fine. I wouldn’t normally panic and would get a replacement one but due to the strikes I’m not sure it would come in time?

Has anyone else had any experience with travelling with a faded cover? It’s due to expire in 2028 so it’s got a lot of life in it!

DHs is like that... he travels a lot!

It doesn't exactly look faded, more as it it's had water damage. But if it's JUST the cover I think you'll be OK.

@PuttingDownRoots phew this gives me hope haha.

@Ellmau no water damage at all and all pages inside are all in tact and no marks inside! Hopefully this is okay 😊

They like you to hand it over open at the correct page anyway!

@PuttingDownRoots now you day it of course they do haha!

My passport is like that. Never been a problem and I’ve travelled quite a lot

@chinchillin

Same comment from me as several previous posters, I've travelled a lot on passports with covers faded like that and it never been a problem.

It just looks like the gilt has rubbed off. Mine is fine because I put it in my handbag, but my other half puts his in his pocket and the gilt rubs off after pretty much one trip. His passports have always looked like this and he's never had an issue (and we used to live abroad and travel to other countries 5+ times a year, so plenty of experience).

Hopefully they don’t lock you up in jail overseas because they can’t read the front cover with no important information on it

Hi can I ask if you managed to fly with your passport like this? Mines is slightly faded but not sure if it's considered damaged🙈

Yes, traveled twice now with this passport and all fine! No one even looked at the cover 😁

Thanks for posting this and updating that all was OK. My passport looks like this, I'm due to travel in a week and couldn't find any information anywhere else about it lol

You will probably be going through an e-gate anyway. As long as the computer (at the e-gate or the officer's desk) can read the chip, you will be fine. In fact you might even get a compliment from the officer for being so well-travelled.

Like a year over due but did you manage to travel with your passport like this ? Mine Is like and I fly in 3 weeks to Turkey :(

Is this passport ok to fly,information page all fine and readable

That should be fine. It's not a beauty contest. The criterion is whether the damage either makes something illegible, or could be covering up something (e.g., if half a page is missing you could have torn out a stamp).

There is a useful list here www.gov.uk/government/publications/damaged-and-faulty-passports/damaged-british-passports-accessible under "Definition of a damaged passport".

That said, if you travel a lot, I would recommend keeping your passport in a cover to avoid damage. Also, in Europe at least, consider not taking it with you everywhere you go. Officially you have to carry it at all times, but if you are ever asked for it — apart from when hiring a car or changing money at the bank, etc, but I mean just walking around — you probably have more to worry about than your passport being in the safe in your hotel room.

Thanx so much really appreciate it