HELP! Flying out tomorrow ,passport expires in July 2026

[Potterxoxo]

Hi all,

Bit of a panic here and hoping someone has been through something similar.
Just realised my 6 year old’s British passport expires July 2026 and we’re flying to Albania tomorrow from London, coming back on 13 June 2026.

I’ve read that Albania needs 3 months validity left after you leave and now I’m worried we might not be allowed to travel.

Has anyone actually been in this situation? Did you get stopped at check in or were you still allowed to go?
I’m just trying to work out how strict this really is in real life,a part of me hopes miraculously they will let us through.
Any experiences would really help !

I would get to the passport office with all your documentation and queue

Yeah most people recognise you can't always rely on your memory, which is why checklists exist for every aspect of life. If you ever go to the supermarket without a list there's a high chance you'll forget at least one important item, but the damage isn't great because you can go to the local shop or get it another day.

It's not really rude. We've never been abroad as a family but I know when our passports expire and update them all at the same time and in plenty of time.

Saying this is most certainly unhelpful at this point.

I bet all the know it all people are the ones busily checking their passports after reading your post OP!

If OP had posted that passports had expired but DH had assured her he had checked them, there would be alot of peopl saying you should have checked them your self, but an insane number of people calling DH all kinds of names under the sun (some tof the language on MN is incredible c*t this C*t that).

Yet stating it was daft to not have checked the passports seems to be some sort of unforgivable thing to say.

You cannot fast track children's passports, there is a minimum of one week on them, so doing this would not help.

Yes easy to say in hindsight but this poor lady is devastated and doesn’t need this pointing out does she?

I am!

Good for you. I’m don’t even know where ours are never mind when they expire.

Have you never made a mistake?

@Jenkibuble
@Jane143
@tommyhoundmum

You cannot fast track a passport for a child. That has been clarified numerous times on this thread.

Why didnt you check the passports ages ago? You need to do what I did- ring up the passport office now and book an emergency appointment. Be prepared to wait all day in Liverpool- good luck.

Did you do that for a child's passport? no

1 week fast track is the only option available.

OP has already explained why she didn't check.

Don't beat yourself OP, anyone who has never made a mistake has never taken any chances. These things happen and you will never make that mistake again!

If you have never been abroad as a family why are you sharing some ‘advice’?

Well that would be a waste of time. Doing what you did.

@Potterxoxo to make you feel better, I work on check in at the cruise terminals and we have at least one, often more, passengers turn up for each cruise who have passports that are not within the valid expiry date. It is heart droppingly awful when we check the passports and see that they won't be able to travel.

As far as the cruise ships that I work on are concerned, it is down to the captain, to make the rules on passport dates etc as with Europe there are differing rules with regard Schengen countries, so I assume, if you had gone to the airport, the airline would have turned you away rather than allowing you to actually reach Albania.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday when you do finally get there.

I'm intrigued by OP taking 2 children to Albania of all places!

Is it an up-and-coming holiday hotspot?

Silly question. Maybe she’s from there? And I know more and more people who are going on holiday there anyway. Open your mind a bit.

Yes, hugely so! A lot of the charm of the more well-known Med with fewer people and more reasonable prices, apparently.

Albania is heavily promoted by travel writers and/or so-called influencers. Low cost and not overrun by the kind of tourist many of us would like to avoid.

I have reminders set on my online calendar for 7-8 months before various passports expire. Just this week told my husband he needed to renew his as it was down to 5 months (he has dual nationality, so he's got a back-up!), he was convinced he had years left n it until he went to check 🙄

This thing about needing to have X amount of time left on your passport is really stupid, imo. A passport should be valid and usable as long as it's in date. The only requirement on leaving your own country should be that your passport is in date on the day you return. Currently all expiration dates are wrong, since you can't use the passport for its intended purpose within six months of that date. 😡

Thank you. I had no idea.

Please, please, please do something about this. Anything could happen to you and an incompetent father isn’t something you want for your children. Unless he is away on military service, on a submarine or oil rig he can’t possibly not have time to be an active parent.