Urgent advice needed!! Passport expiration time

[NSWK]

We are travelling last minute (hopefully) to Spain tomorrow for half term, and have just realised our child's passport has two months and three weeks until it expires. It looks like we need to have a full three months on a child's passport to travel. We have only just realised this and are travelling tomorrow afternoon so it is too late to renew the passport.

Does anyone have any experience? We are hoping to fly with BA from Gatwick to Malaga, both parent's passports have, in excess of, 6 months. Is there a chance they will let us fly (we are only going for five days) or are we mad to even go to the airport?

Thank you in advance, all advice gratefully received.

I wish we could just make sure that we leave the country we are going to by the expiry date. It would make things a lot easier.

we are paying a lot for a passport and don’t get to use the last 3-6 months.

we are paying a lot for a passport and don’t get to use the last 3-6 months.

I agree. The reality is that a ten year passport is now only valid for 9 years and 9 months for Europe and nine and a half years for some other countries.

@NSWK I am really sorry, but it looks like you will be denied entry into Spain.

Your passport must be:

• issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the ‘date of issue’)
• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

From the government website.

Sorry 😞

Good luck Op!

We are unfortunate that we got our kids new passports in Jan 2020. Then all 2020 holidays were cancelled and we didn’t risk it in 2021. So we’ve only had two holidays from our kids passports and have just applied for new ones this year for this summer.

No one to blame just unfortunate but if we could use it up to the expiry date we could use it this year too and at least get one more holiday out of it.

@Icystars Why have you renewed them this year when they will expire in January 2025? If you're travelling in the EU you could travel until September/October depending on when in January they were issued.

Thank you! 🙏
We will need it 🤞🍀

Because we don’t know where we are going yet. We usually go end of aug and return early sept. If we do go somewhere needing 6 months then we won’t have enough time left.

I think you are super smart to renew early! Well done 👏

Well they let me into Spain without my passport once, but this was 30 years ago so not much help.
My parents were very lucky. My mum didn't realise I needed my own passport once I hit 14 or something.

Passport rules are annoyingly complicated. Sorry for you op

I had 6 months left on my passport when flying to Spain and they berated me for it when I got there! I think I was told 4/5 times I must renew my passport, so I think even if you manage to get through from here you’ll be refused entry once in Spain.

I hope it works out for you. If they don’t let you in will insurance pay out?

My dh had 1 day spare when we went to Spain last year and no-one mentioned it. Dh was fully aware and decided not to renew against my advice so I was quite ready to holiday without him.

I panic when I've got about 12 months left as I'm hopeless with numbers and working out the rules

Good luck @NSWK!

No, I doubt I would be covered be insurance

I actually think you will be fine but I don't work at the airport. Good luck

Good luck!!🤞

Good luck op. I wanted to go to Talin just before Christmas but one of the dc only two and a bit months left so I didn't risk ir. Will be interesting to see if you make it

(deleted — on reflection my comment wasn't helpful)

After Brexit we also lost the "extra months" added to passports renewed early before 1 October 2018.

OP must be at the airport now. What will you do if you don't get through? Go home? 😬

Yes, that is the worst case scenario! We need a lot of luck 🍀

If you are checking cases in I would check at the check in desk that you can go. You don't want your cases put on a plane without you getting on the flight.

I'm sorry but I really don't think they will let your child fly.

It doesn't matter that you have checked in on line.

They can't let you board the plane as at the Spanish end you would be refused entry.

Yes! Don't want to delay the plane by having our bags taken off it! We've packed light so we can take them as hand luggage.