British people on vacation to parts of Europe must follow two important passport rules or follow faces that have been denied entry.
Passport rules apply when entering 31 European countries, including popular tourist destinations such as Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Greece. If you are traveling to the European Union or the countries of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you must ensure that you have a passport with a “issue date” 10 years before your arrival date and that you have an “expiration date” at least three months after the date you plan to leave.
This means that if you renew your passport by October 1, 2018, you have a date of the issue over 10 years ago.
If your passport does not meet both of these requirements, your entry will be denied because there is no valid travel documents to enter these countries.
Your Europe explains: “If you are a national of a non-EU country that you want to visit or travel within the EU, you will need a valid passport and perhaps a visa. Your passport must be valid for at least three months from the date you leave the EU and have been issued within the last 10 years.
“This means that the travel documents must have been issued within the last 10 years, which must be issued on the day you enter the EU, provided that your stay is finished and remain in effect until the end of another three months.
“If necessary, children and minors must have their own passports and visas. Other support documents must be created for border officials upon arrival, including invitations, proof of accommodation, returns, and round-trip tickets.”
Passport rules apply in the following 31 European countries:
AustriaBelgiumBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyLatviaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaNetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerland
British people who need to renew their passports to meet the two requirements will face an increase in fees starting from April 10, 2025 as new fees become effective.
Subject to Parliamentary approval, the standard UK online application fees will increase from £88.50 to £94.50 for adults and from £57.50 to £61.50 for children.
Postal applications will increase from £100 to £107 for adults and from £69 to £74 for children, while premium service (one day) applications in the UK will increase from £207.50 to £222 for adults and from £176.50 to £189 for children.
If you apply from overseas, the standard online application fees for UK passports increase from £101 to £108 for adults and £70 to £70 for children, while standard paper applications overseas increase from £112.50 to £120.50 for adults and £77 to £82.50 for children.
Holiday makers recommend that you need to apply at a good time before traveling, as standard applications can take around three weeks to process.
