Four important passport issues risk leaving more than 9 million British people at the airport. According to a new survey by YouGov, around 40% of people in the UK don't know some important travel rules.
Based on the number of UK holiday makers in 2024, Gocompare experts say this means that around 9.6 million UK travelers will not notice if their passports are no longer available.
The advice on government websites is clear – if a rift, tear, hole or water is damaged in your passport, it can be invalidated for travel.
“If your passport is damaged, you need to replace it. You may not be able to travel together,” says gov.uk. This applies to cases where any of the details cannot be read, if any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing, if the cover is missing, or if the page has stains.
If this applies to your passport, you must exchange it before your trip. This will cost £94.50 online or £107 using paper service.
A YouGov study surveying 2,000 people showed that nearly half (45%) of valid passport holders were unaware that their passport would be denied if the cover was loose or damaged. Additionally, 64% of Britons are unaware that passports with unofficial stamps and stickers could be denied.
Only two in five UK adults (41%) knew that if they had done one of these passport errors they would not be covered by travel insurance. Without cover, holiday people risk losing the money they spent on their trip if they can't travel due to passport issues.
GoCompare experts highlighted other important passport rules, such as ensuring that your passport is valid for the correct time of your stay and destination. Surprisingly, only 60% of UK adults know that their passports must be less than 10 years before they depart for Europe, and realize that they must be valid for at least three months from the date of return.
Even fewer travelers know that their passports must be valid for at least six months after entering Australia, China, Thailand, the UAE, India and Indonesia (42%). When visiting New Zealand, he still knew that it must be valid for at least three months beyond the departure date (24%).
Rhys Jones, travel insurance expert at Gocompare, commented: “Unfortunately, it may not be covered in travel insurance for costs incurred from passport issues that prevent you from leaving, so it is very important to know the rules for planning to check your passport while visiting before you travel.
“You can check the validity requirements of passports from various countries on the UK Government's Foreign Travel Advice page. If you are unsure whether your passport will be a date, we recommend that you be on the safe side and renew it before attempting a trip.”
The number of travelers not aware of this passport rule was calculated by applying the percentage of travelers who said they were not aware of this rule (supplied via the YouGov survey) in 2024.
For more information about passport requirements, visit gov.uk/renew-adult-passport.
