Travelling to EU with passport between 9 years 9 months and 10 years old

[AdeptBiscuit]

Hi all, First time poster here but long time lurker… I am travelling the Spain with EasyJet next week, returning the week after. My passport was issued in March 2016 so it is less than ten years old. My passport expires in September 2026 (as remaining time was added from my previous passport when I renewed it) therefore it is valid for more than three months after I return. I have checked the government guidance extensively and am certain that my passport fulfils the requirements for travel so my question is not about this.

However, I know that in the past people have been wrongly denied boarding by the airline in the same situation because the airline has erroneously said that if a passport is more than 9 years 9 months old it is not valid for travel. These reports are from around a year ago and the government guidance has since been clarified.

I would like to know if anyone has recent experience of travelling with a passport which is between 9 years and 9 months and 10 years old with extended expiry date? Did they experience any difficulties with boarding or was it ok?

(I would like to avoid spending the additional money for an urgent renewal if possible but will do if needed).

Thanks!

I would get the renewal. I think there is a v high risk you’ll be turned away either at the airport or on arrival. And it is not worth risking it.

This.

Spain a quick google...

UK citizens traveling to Spain (Schengen Area) a rule applying to all EU/Schengen countries except Ireland. This means you need both an issue date within the last decade and an expiry date at least three months after you leave Spain; even if your passport was issued over 10 years ago (due to extra months added at renewal), you could be denied boarding.

I thought it was the case that the British "added" months do not count in the EU after Brexit because the local rules are 10 years from the date of issue. I wouldn't risk it, personally and I'd get a renewal.

Four replies - all wrong 🙄

The OP's passport is valid for entry into Spain as it was issued less than 10 years ago.

The extended expiry date has no baring on the OP's exit from Spain as long as there are still 3 months remaining on the passport, which in this case is September 2026.

From the UK Government website:
Passport validity requirements
Spain follows Schengen area rules. Your passport must:

• have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the date you arrive – if you renewed your passport before 1 October 2018, it may have a date of issue that is more than 10 years ago
• have an ‘expiry date’ at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area (the expiry date does not need to be within 10 years of the date of issue)

Easyjet were in the past pilloried in the national press multiple times about interpreting these rules incorrectly, so hopefully they've now understood and have stopped denying people boarding when their passports have actually been valid.

My OH has a passport issued in March 2016, expiring June 2026.

When we boarded a flight recently the desk agent did a double take and said you need to get this renewed asap

We travelled to Austria in August 2024 with passports issued September 2014 expiring June 2025.

We had a last minute panic when we realised but they let us fly.

What Havana wrote.

Hopefully confusion amongst airline staff has now been cleared up although there still seems to be confusion even now.

By the way TUI have an online passport checker and it will check your passport validity immediately. As long as TUI fly there you can use their site to check your passport validity.

To travel to Europe and Schengen countries, your passport must be:

• Issued less than 10 years before your departure date
• Valid for at least three months after your planned return date

These are the only requirements that need to be met.

You were allowed to fly because the passports were still valid.

The issue date was less than 10 years from when you left the UK and entered the Schengen Area.

The expiry date was well within the 3 months required.

Thank god someone put the correct answer.

My passport was issued in March 2016 so it is less than ten years old. My passport expires in September 2026

When you fly next week your passport will be under 10 years old (issue date plus 10 years = March 2026)

When you leave Spain you need 3 months remaining which your passport does(expiry date of September 2026)

You dont need an urgent renewal at all.

Get the renewal.

My passport was issued in feb 2016. It expired in May 2026. It was only in passing that my mum mentioned to a friend who’s a travel agent that I was going away. She had a copy of my passport (from organising previous holidays), and told me it would be rejected and I’d be denied entry on my trip in February 2026.

Your passport expiry has no relation to OPs passport expiry as hers will still be valid when she flies whereas yours wouldnt be.

That’s irrelevant though. Since brexit the additional time is no longer seen as valid. (My passport was also going to be valid when I travelled, by 2 days).

And that is right if you have less than three months left which if your passport expires early Feb and you travel late May is correct. However, this has zero bearing kn the op’s passport which is absolutely valid for travel

But OPs passport wont be in its additional time when she travels as it will still be under 10 years old. It will still be under 10 years old when she returns from holiday too!

Not true, the ‘additional’ months are valid for exiting the country, just the issued date needs to be less than 10 years

All this nonsense really pisses me off, if your passport is in date then it should be valid IMO. Spain are assholes about this sort of thing IME, DH had a Spanish ID card and couldn't use it (in Spain) because it didn't have more than 6 months left on it - what's the point of issuing something that you can't use for the last 6 months/3 months of it?

Rant over, I think you should be fine OP but I don't have any experience sorry.

A joy of Brexit plus the UK had the anomaly of some passports that were issued with validity that was more than 10 years.

The rules are not just for Spain - they are valid for the entire Schengen Area which includes most of the EU plus a few other countries such as Norway and Switzerland.

The "nonsense" is a consequence of people falling for the lies that Johnson and Farage peddled. If you're going to be pissed off at anyone, direct your anger at those two assholes rather than at the countries that have "taken control of their borders"

Thanks to everyone who had taken time to reply.

My passport is valid for the trip for the reasons that Havanananana has eloquently explained. My uncertainty is whether the airline staff’s understanding of the rules had caught up with the clarity of the government guidance which is why I am interested to hearing about recent experiences.

We did this once and it was extremely stressful but it was more than a year ago so might have improved since. EasyJet’s systems rejected us for boarding and someone experienced had to be found to allow us to board. If there hadn’t been anyone around, I’m not sure we’d have made it. We were then rejected by the entry systems in Italy and again someone had to be found to agree to let us in. I think there were even issues coming home. I’d be loath to risk it again.

You should be OK. All of the major airlines have got this sorted out by now. Every case where people get denied boarding is extensively written up in the media, starting with Simon Calder, and I haven't seen one in the last couple of years.

Well my passport gets to 10 years old in mid January but has an expiry date in September 2026 so I know it is valid for my trip to the EU next week (it's a short trip).

I will renew it after I get back because I visit the EU regularly so know I can't do this for much longer on my current passport.

However it doesn't actually expire until the expiry date funnily enough so if I wanted to go somewhere like Mexico or the US in the summer I could do this on my current passport because those countries only require passports to be valid for the duration of the trip.

I ger my information from reliable sources like gov.uk and don't rely on anecdata of the 'my neighbour's hairdresser's sister said this' variety, or online forums or ChatGPT for that matter because both say any old shit.