Can you help with our Dubai passport dilemma?
Q Help! We are taking our daughter to Dubai at half-term, departing on the evening of 13 February. We have just spotted her passport expires in May 2023. I believe the UAE requires at least six months of validity remaining. I’ve checked the fasttrack option and the only Passport Office appointments are in Belfast, which we simply cannot countenance (we live in Kent). What can we do?
A The Foreign Office warns: “Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of entry into the UAE.” While anecdotally I have heard that some travellers have had this requirement waived, a diligent member of ground staff would not allow your daughter on board the plane to Dubai.
You have probably read the HM Passport Office warning: “Allow up to 10 weeks to receive your passport.” This is patently absurd because most standard renewals are being completed within a couple of weeks. There is a surge in demand at the moment because tomorrow the price of a passport increases by £7. But in any event, your best hope is to apply online for a replacement passport for your daughter this morning, and immediately send off the old passport; work will begin on the new one only when that is received.
A month ago I obtained my replacement within 12 days, even with the new year shutdown and the Royal Mail backlog slowing things down. Assuming all is in order, I reckon she should get her passport printed within a week – at which point let us hope the delivery service is up to scratch and delivers it no later than 13 February. I give you a 90:10 chance of getting it through in time, and at this stage it is the only real option.
Incidentally, you have done me a favour too. Until I researched the subject, I was unaware that the UAE imposes a three-month minimum in passport validity even for transit passengers. So if your passport expires on 30 April 2023, and you were flying via Dubai to Australia (which has no minimum validity requirement), theoretically the airline could and should turn you away even though you are fully documented for your destination.
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