Passport less than one month valid for Spain!!! Cancelled whole trip and lost money! Gutted

[Thefirstime]

So gutted

can’t believe I didn’t notice my son’s passport validity was less than a month.. enough for us to travel there and back but not with the 3 months required!!!

supposed to fly on Monday - now having to cancel whole trip no refund.. painful..

I spoke to the embassy and no chance..

so Annoyed with myself.. my son was looking forward to it so much..

There was a poster in here a month or so ago who was in a similar position. She took a chance and went to the airport, her son got on the flight no problem! I'm not saying it would work (and it should t really if checks are done properly) but be worth a chance. You've nothing to lose.

Can you change the dates of your trip, even for a fee?

Such an easy thing to happen, I'm not sure if the airline checks the passport or immigration at the destination, does anyone know?

It's one thing to be able to get on the plane, but quite another to be turned back at the destination airport by passport control.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/4968388-3-months-left-on-my-sons-passport

I'm not sure if the airline checks the passport or immigration at the destination, does anyone know?

Both. If the airline lets someone into the country and they’re turned away at immigration, the airline has to pay the costs of getting them home; and a fine.

Both should check. Some people will sneak through but I’m not sure I’d risk it with a child.

Ofc they check. But our dc had less than 3 months and she said we would recieve a fine at the destination country. We said it was ok, rather than cancel the whole trip. The fine was £100.

Does he fit in a suitcase?

Not always

Dh flew with a friend and he only had 2 months less. No fine and no discussion over the passport!!

Read the thread I posted above OP @Thefirstime
If you can't change the dates of the holiday, you've lost that money anyway. I'd give it a go.

It’s more the disappointment for my son, getting to the airport to be turned away :/ he’s only 5..

id risk it as an adult but not with him in tow..

Are you travelling with a partner? If so you might get away with it but you will want to minimise the number of people looking at DS's passport.

When you check your bags in, have your partner go up to the desk with the bags and passports for both parents. They will want to see those because presumably you have each bought a hold luggage place with your tickets. If the person on check-in asks where the other adult is, partner points to you standing 6 or 7 metres away, with DS who will preferably look like he is having a meltdown (I'm sure you can find a way to simulate or provoke that).

At the gate, board the plane quite late in the process. If possible arrive looking flushed just as you are getting on. There is a good chance that the gate staff will not scrutinise DS's passport too closely for expiration dates, because (a) they are in a hurry to close the gate and go for a smoke break, and (b) they will assume that the staff at baggage check-in already checked the validity. You're going on holiday, so they assume almost everyone has checked in a bag. Further meltdown-like noises may also help here.

Once you get to Spain, it would be a very hard-hearted official to deny you entry. For one thing, it is a lot of paperwork for them to arrange to pay the airline for the return flight. In fact they might not even notice the problem, if you are in the middle of a queue of 200 people all getting stamps in their passports (and again, the meltdown...). From October passport validity will be checked electronically when you enter the EU and the machine will probably make the Family Fortunes "wrong answer" noise, but for now you have human frailty on your side.

None of this is guaranteed, but if you want to chance it versus losing the whole holiday, it might just work (as they say in bad adventure movies).

Sorry but how does this happen? Every time I book a holiday, I get the passports out and look at the dates, check the rules for travelling to whatever country and make sure it all matches up. Then I book the holiday and arrange any passport renewals needed. I just don’t understand how so many people only check a few days before they travel.

What do you mean you've spoken to the embassy ? Do you mean the passport office ?

It does seem odd that some people are reporting they were allowed to travel and others weren't . A friend was told that they needed to have the full 3 months left at the point of the return flight .

@samarrange the person on the bag drop desk holds passports against an electronic thingy . I think that this checks against other data so I don't think you would get through an airport without people noticing . Whether it matters so much for a child, I don't know.

Well aren’t you so smart . If only everyone was as clever as you

Life happens - major error on my part yes..

id be too worried to do it with my 5 y/o.. we literally have 3 days validity upon return let alone 3 months!!!

can’t believe I loose the money.. I do have a part of me that’s saying just try anyway but it could be very disappointing and waste of yet more money..

That’s a tad harsh.

It’s easy to check passports at any time , say Jan 1, have a quick look at expiry dates and be able to know ‘we are all good to travel this year’

I'm basing my logic on the idea that since any individual passenger can go straight to the gate if they don't have luggage to check in, there is probably no requirement for every member of the party on the booking to show their passport when only some members of the party are checking in a bag.

My partner and I sometimes go away with just one checked bag. The one who added the bag under their name on the booking goes up to the desk and the other usually hangs around some way away from the queue, especially since Covid. When we did it the other way round once by mistake the check-in person said "You are Mrs S but the bag is booked for Mr S, I need to see his passport". This is what happens on Ryanair anyway.

Of course, my whole scenario is what the Americans call a "Hail Mary" (on the basis that OP has nothing to lose) and I'm not saying it would have a huge chance of working. Plus as OP has said, it might be better to not let DS find out when at the airport that they're not travelling. I feel awful for her.

I would definitely try your luck and go - what have you got to lose? There are only three options:

-no holiday and all holiday money gone
-you get away with it, and have the holiday
-you partly get away with it but have to pay some kind of fine, which would still be worth it as long as it's less than the holiday cost

I wouldn't cancel the whole holiday if you are going to lose the money anyway. Your son stays behind with one parent and whoever's left goes on holiday, or even leave DS with a family member and both go even if one of you comes back early. Or apply for DS renewed passport and fly out to meet the others on the holiday. How long were you going for? The passport could be back in a few days.

Basically I'd do what I can to salvage something rather than lose ££££.

Wow. Parents somehow book a holiday without checking passports, the only one it affects is their child so hey ho, leave the kid behind and off then go on holiday. Just wow.

@WarshipRocinante well no it's not ideal, but salvaging something of an expensive holiday is better than losing the lot.

How long are you away for? If its for longer than 1 week could 1 parent stay home and do a fast track application and then fly out after that's arrived?

The thing is in this case, it's not just short of three months.
I travel frequently to Spain and I've noticed my passport gets more and more scrutiny.
It's not a person glancing at your passport, it's a computer system.
No way would I even try it with such little leeway.
It doesn't even leave enough time on the passport if you were delayed by a few days.
Sadly OP I think you just have to write off this holiday

Change the dates. You’ll have to pay something but it won't be as much as losing the full cost.