The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Head further afield and avoid the passport chaos
Worried about EU expiry dates? Don’t panic. There are still places you can go right up to the last minute, says Nick Trend
You are unlikely to have missed news of the chaos caused by backlogs in applications to the Pass- port Office and confusion over passport validity caused by the post-Brexit rules for visiting Europe. Many people have had to cancel holidays and some have been denied boarding at the last moment because of problems with expiry dates (see telegraph.co.uk/tt-passport-expiry).
Demand for the Passport Office’s last-minute emergency service has surged. It is now advising that you allow at least 10 weeks to renew your document.
So what do you do if your passport is getting close to its expiry date and you don’t have time to renew it before you travel? First, check the situation at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, select the country you want to visit, click on “Entry requirements” and scroll to “Passport validity”. If you are visiting an EU or Schengen zone country (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), pay close attention to the issue date of your passport and double check with the embassy of the country you are visiting.
If you don’t have time to renew, don’t panic. It will strike the EU off your holiday destination list, along with Turkey and Egypt (which require six months’ validity from the date you arrive) and Morocco (three months), but the following countries still accept British passports right up to the end of their validity dates. No additional months
If you have had a problem with your holiday or travel arrangements, contact our troubleshooter, Gill Charlton, or our consumer expert,
Nick Trend, at the email address below.
We also have more than 150 destination experts all over the world who can help with suggestions for great places to stay, to eat and to visit. Please email asktheexperts @telegraph.co.uk, giving your full name and, if your query is about a dispute with a travel company, your address, telephone number and any booking reference. We regret that we cannot personally answer all queries, but your email will be acknowledged. are needed, nor are there complications over the issue date. In some cases you will need to allow time to apply for a visa before visiting. The advice below is from the UK Foreign Office.
AUSTRALIA
British citizens can normally get an electronic visitor visa (eVisitor visa) free at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas, or an Electronic Travel Authority visa via a travel agent or airline for AU$20 (£11.50). Information on all other types of visa is available from the website above.
BARBADOS
British passport holders don’t need a visa to visit. On entry, you will normally be granted a specified period to stay. If you wish to stay longer, you must apply and pay for an extension of stay through the Barbados Immigration Department.
CANADA
While your passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your stay, the Foreign Office warns that if you have less than six months’ validity “it may take longer to pass through immigration control”. If travelling by air, you will also need an electronic travel authorisation (eTA) which costs CAD$7 (£4.40) via canada.ca/en.html. This will be checked before you are allowed to board your flight. If you are entering by land or sea, you won’t need an eTA, but you must have a valid UK passport (see cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp).
MEXICO
UK citizens visiting Mexico as a tourist don’t need a visa, but do have to complete an immigration form and keep this with them when entering and leaving the country. The form is available on arrival at immigration or online in advance (inm.gob.mx/fmme/publico/ en/solicitud.html), though the advance option is only possible if your passport is valid for at least six months from your intended date of entry to Mexico.
UNITED STATES
While your passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your stay, it must be a biometric ePassport with the silver camera symbol on the front. Most holidaymakers from the UK will also need to get a visa waiver under the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, but some will need a full visa (to determine which applies to you, visit travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/usvisas.html).