Millions of Brits are preparing to jet off on their summer holidays in the coming months – but if you’re heading abroad, you must make sure to take a good look at your passport well before you get to the airport.
While most holidaymakers will be checking that their passport is still in date, this isn’t the only thing you need to watch out for when examining your travel document. The GOV.UK website explains that if your passport is damaged, you may be turned away from your flight – and this can include small details that you may not realise can put a stop to your trip, such as rips in pages or water stains.
This is a rule that saw former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison caught out earlier this year, when she was told her passport couldn’t be used due to some of the pages being slightly torn when she was due to fly out to Capri to finalise wedding plans with fiancé Ercan Ramadan. EasyJet explained at the time that it “cannot allow any passenger to travel on their planned flight with documentation damaged to such a degree that its authenticity is brought into question”.
The Passport Office has issued a list of what they will consider to be a damaged passport. If your travel document has any of the following, you “must replace it”, the Government urges, as you may not be able to travel with it:
- You cannot read any of your details
- Any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing
- There are holes, cuts or rips in the cover
- The cover is coming away
- There are stains on the pages (for example, ink or water damage)
If your passport is damaged you will need to apply for a new one, which can be done on the GOV.UK website at a cost of £88.50. Alternatively, you can get a paper application form by either going to the Post Office or calling the Passport Adviceline on 0300 222 0000 for a higher cost of £100 – for either application, you will need a photo of yourself and someone to confirm your identity.
The current wait time for receiving your new passport after sending off your application is approximately three weeks, according to the Home Office. If you need your travel document sooner than this, you will need to book an appointment at your local passport office, which will be the branch in Durham if you’re in the North East, in order to get a premium or fast track service.
While you’re checking your passport for any damage, it’s worth double-checking both its issue date and expiry date to ensure it will be valid for the duration of your holiday. Rules around this are different depending on which country you’re visiting, but within the Schengen Area, which comprises 27 European countries including Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Greece, your passport must meet the following criteria:
- 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)
- An ‘expiry date’ at least three months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen Area
You can travel without a visa to the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. If you are travelling to other Schengen countries as well, make sure your whole visit is within the 90-day visa-free limit – visits to Schengen countries in the 180 days before you travel count towards your 90 days.