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Post-Brexit passport rules have barred millions of Brits from entering the EU and are likely to cause chaos over the Easter holidays.
With the holidays starting in earnest on Thursday, an estimated 2.4 million travelers will have documents that cannot be used to travel to the EU due to changes to validity requirements.
Since Brexit, your British passport must be less than 10 years old from the date of your departure to the EU and must have at least 3 months remaining before expiry on your intended return date. However, millions of passports issued before September 2018 will have a longer validity period.
analysis by independent person It has been suggested that 200 people are breaching the rules at UK airports every day, with thousands of people expected to have their holidays ruined next time.
This rule change is in line with the UK’s withdrawal agreement with the EU, which puts the UK in the category of “third country nationals” along with Venezuela and Samoa, and applies different expiry rules than when it was a member state. . This means Britons will be turned away at airports, ferries and trains bound for Europe, even if they have previously traveled to the EU with the same document.
The 17-day Easter break is a particularly busy time for UK travelers, with an estimated 6.4 million trips from the UK to Europe, and 1.6 million over the bank holiday weekend alone.
Extending the expiry date of your old passport was an effective way to avoid wasting part of your passport’s validity. Because owners can renew up to 9 months early without wasting time. But since the rules changed, many people are under the impression that their current passport will take them longer to enter the EU than they actually do.
For example, people with passports issued before March 28, 2014 will no longer be able to travel to Europe from today, even if they have many months left on their validity. This confusing rule could affect everyone who was issued a passport before September 2018, an estimated 32 million people.
Traveler Ruth Wade was recently about to board a flight from Manchester Airport to Zurich via Brussels for her son’s wedding. However, he was refused because his passport was expired for more than 10 years.
“I had already checked in for my flight 24 hours earlier,” she said. independent person. “I handed over my passport at the counter. The woman from Brussels Airlines looked at me and said, ‘You can’t travel with this passport. It’s expired.’
“My response was: ‘No, it hasn’t expired yet. It doesn’t expire until October 2024.'” She continued, “The expiration date doesn’t matter, it’s 10 years from the date of issue.” Ta.
The expiry date of my passport was 10 years old in a few days.
“I was distraught,” Wade said. “She looked at my husband and said, ‘You can go, but she can’t.’
“She didn’t give me any advice other than to say it was in the news. I don’t listen to or watch the news, and I have seven months left on my passport, so I don’t want it to be issued. I’m not interested either.”
Mr Wade was able to book a fast-track booking slot at the British Passport Office in Liverpool, but this required a hotel stay and a new ticket.
“I need to go to Zurich to meet my son who is getting married. I had to rebook my flight and lost money on the first flight. I can’t be upset or frustrated.”
According to official data, the Royal Passport Office issued 706,000 passports in March 2014. Independent It is estimated that around 500,000 adult passports are available, of which 80% require an additional number of months to be renewed.
Since the lifespan of these 400,000 passports is approximately 10 years and 6 months, the grace period for violating the rules is 6 months, so approximately 2.4 million passports could be affected.
Airports such as Edinburgh, Newcastle and Bristol are already predicting their busiest Easter on record, with 2 million people flying out of UK airports between Good Friday and Easter Monday, most to the EU and across the Schengen Area. It is expected that he will be on his way.
Geneva routes are extremely busy with winter sports fans, while Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Tenerife are typical destinations for sunny spring holidays.
Among the most popular city breaks, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris and Rome are the most popular. Dubai, Orlando and New York are major long-haul destinations.
Proportionally, there is a significant increase in European family travel over the Easter period. The main season in Turkey has not yet started, and Egypt is not particularly popular for short holidays due to long flight times.
Airlines maintain that it is the passenger’s responsibility to comply with the destination’s entry rules. Travel insurance companies will not pay for losses related to passport expiration issues.
A government spokesperson said: “Passport renewals can be done quickly and easily online or at the post office.
“We encourage all customers not to book a trip without a passport to meet their travel needs.”
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