WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR UK PASSPORT HOLDERS
ENTERING THE EU?
Following recent confusion, and some tourists being refused travel, it is important to check when your passport expires, as rules have changed since Brexit.
You might assume that your passport is valid up to the expiry date. But this isn’t always the case.
Pre Brexit, UK passport holders could freely travel across Europe up to and including the expiry date shown on their passports. However, the UK is now classified by the EU a ‘third country’ and therefore UK passport holders are ‘third country nationals’, and therefore face different rules
For a UK passport holder to visit the EU, they will need a valid passport, and MUST ensure that it meets BOTH of the following rules:
- the passport MUST have been issued within 10 YEARS of the day you enter the EU country
- the expiry date MUST be valid for a minimum of 3 MONTHS* after the date of departure from the EU country
* Although the rules are 3 months validity for the Schengen countries (which includes most EU countries plus Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland), some countries which require a visa for entry do have a 6 month validity rule, so the UK Government does suggest sticking to 6 months validity to ensure you are covered.
