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 !

In unrelated but cheery passport news, I sent my renewal off on Tuesday afternoon and the new one is arriving tomorrow. Hemel Hempstead office.

I hope you have a lovely time when you eventually get there.

Cancel the cheque…

I am also a well wusher

I also dislike the sneery " no way can you travel" posts as many of us from the 80's and 90's know it is perfectly possible. The fact that it isn't now, is just current black and white thinking . Doesn't make society wrong if it can do shades of grey as it used to and is used in literally every other sector of life .

If it makes you feel any better i have done something similar. I assumed my childs passport was for a long not a short period and booked a fairly last minute holiday abroad (2 weeks ahead) with NO valid passport for him (discovering it expired years ago) and then realised my mistake. Not only that but that I also realised I may need permission from his father (ex hub) to go abroad. As ex hub had previously witheld permission to try and prevent a previous holiday to france I decided to risk the ex husband permission thing. But had to very quickly sort the passport - we booked an appt online, completed forms online and went down to the Cardiff passport office on the following weekend to get it sorted. We made the holiday but it was quite stressful in the planning. So your mistake is one that is easily made and easily overlooked. Dont be hard on yourself x