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Traveling to France: passport advice

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 mountainbagger 25 Apr 2022

Hi

Slightly obscure one this. According to gov guidelines:

"Your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be:

less than 10 years old on the day you enter (check the ‘date of issue’)

valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

We are asking the European Commission to clarify the 10-year rule. Their guidance for Schengen border guards may not be updated until the spring of 2022. Until then, for some Schengen countries your passport may need to be less than 10 years old during your whole visit, and the 3 months at the end of your visit may need to be within 10 years of your passport’s issue date."

So, my wife's passport is valid until sometime next year. However, it will be 10 years from date of issue some time in July this year (because several months were added to the 10 years due to renewing early). So far, all good as it will still be less than 10 years old when we enter France end of May and there will be way more than 3 months left UNTIL EXPIRY when we plan to come back about 10 days later.

It's the last paragraph quoted above from our gov website that worries me. July (the 10 year anniversary of her passport) is less than 3 months after we are due to return. Has anyone any experience of traveling to France with a passport that will be OVER 10 years old earlier than 3 months after the return date from France despite having an expiry date far longer than that?

Thanks!

Post edited at 18:32
 RobAJones 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

We had to renew Mrs J's passport earlier than expected for a similar reason to the one you have outlined. There is a government website that you can type your wife's passport details into and it will say if it is valid for the holiday or not. Mrs J's came up no on a big red screen so she now has a blue passport. 

Post edited at 18:57
In reply to RobAJones:

> We had to renew Mrs J's passport earlier than expected for a similar reason to the one you have outlined. There is a government website that you can type your wife's passport details into and it will say if it is valid for the holiday or not. Mrs J's came up no on a big red screen so she now has a blue passport. 

Oh wow, thanks. Do you have a link to that site? Didn't spot anything when I was looking!

 RobAJones 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

Mrs J is adamant that the one she used was an official government one, so perhaps it was the faulty one.

https://visaguide.world/news/uk/uk-passport-validity-checker-for-travel-to-... 

In reply to RobAJones:

> Mrs J is adamant that the one she used was an official government one, so perhaps it was the faulty one.

Ok thanks. This paragraph unfortunately implies we have to renew to be sure of being allowed in:

"Important: To enter any of the EU/EEA countries, your passport must be issued no earlier than 10 years from the day you plan on travelling."

 65 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

My maroon passport expires in September. I entered France just over a week ago and came back yesterday. I had no problems, other than getting entry and exit stamps in it which I found profoundly upsetting.

In reply to 65:

> My maroon passport expires in September. I entered France just over a week ago and came back yesterday. I had no problems, other than getting entry and exit stamps in it which I found profoundly upsetting.

Ah, thanks, but was it more than 10 years since the issue date when you traveled out there?

 RobAJones 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

> Ok thanks. This paragraph unfortunately implies we have to renew to be sure of being allowed in:

I'd err on the side of caution as well. From reading some of the reports some people with passports that were technically valid still weren't allowed to travel. I don't think being shown to be correct after the even would be any consolation. 

 65 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

Ah, of course. No, just within by about a month.

Post edited at 20:02
In reply to 65:

> Ah, of course. No, just within by about a month.

Oh sorry, wrong question! I've managed to confuse myself as well!

My wife's will be less than 10 years since issue when we're out there but the 10 years is up about 2 months after we get back. So yours was within 10 years by about a month from when you were out there? In which case, you are a perfect example and that's encouraging news, thank you.

The worry I had based on the gov site wording (not the Visa site linked to by Rob) was that it may need to be within 10 years from issue 3 months AFTER we are due to return.

In reply to RobAJones:

> I'd err on the side of caution as well. From reading some of the reports some people with passports that were technically valid still weren't allowed to travel. I don't think being shown to be correct after the even would be any consolation. 

Sorry I confused myself. The wording on the Visa site is fine. We will be within 10 years when we travel. It was the gov wording in my original post I was worried about...that we'd need to be within 10 years + 3 months from when we're due to come back.

Your point still stands about erring on the side of caution. Unfortunately, I'm not sure we have time to get the passport renewed (4 and a half weeks). There aren't any emergency appointments available at the moment where you can guarantee a renewal in 7 days or same day (for more money obviously).

 RobAJones 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

>  Unfortunately, I'm not sure we have time to get the passport renewed

It looks like you are clearly OK to travel out and it would be very strange if someone was being an (incorrect) jobsworth about your return. Good luck. 

 Andy Manthorpe 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/renew-passport-eu-expi...

Have a look at this article. It would appear our government's website is incorrect on the passport expiration advice.

In reply to Andy Manthorpe:

> Have a look at this article. It would appear our government's website is incorrect on the passport expiration advice.

Thanks, that's useful and is helping me to relax a bit now!

 LastBoyScout 25 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

Was checking our passports earlier, after seeing a story online about a family being denied boarding due to the new passport rules.

My wife's passport expires middle of 2023, but has an issued date of November 2012 - renewed early due to changing surname after we got married and they added the remaining time on.

3 months back from the November date is smack in the middle of our trip to Portugal and definitely less than 3 months for Barcelona in October, so she's got to get a new passport - just as well I checked now, but she's going to lose nearly a year off her passport.

The rest of us are ok, as we renewed more recently.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

I actually think she would be ok with her current passport based on the Independent article posted above, but this far out I'd still renew just in case (which you are).

 LastBoyScout 26 Apr 2022
In reply to mountainbagger:

Yes, having read it again - the Indy article wouldn't display for me yesterday. Here is the relevant bit:

Are the “issued less than 10 years ago” and “valid for three months” rules combined?

No. There is no need to have a passport issued less than nine years, nine months ago. The two conditions are independent of each other.

The Migration and Home Affairs Department of the European Commission in Brussels told me: “Entry should be allowed to those travelling with passports issued within the previous 10 years at the moment of entry into the Schengen area.

“The condition that the passport must have been issued within the previous 10 years does not extend for the duration of the intended stay. It is enough if this condition is fulfilled at the moment of entry.

“To give a practical example, a non-EU traveller arriving on 1 December 2021 for a 20-days stay in the EU with a passport issued on 2 December 2011 and valid until 2 April 2022 will be allowed entry.”

The risk is whether this is understood correctly by the airline policy and staff.

 LastBoyScout 27 Apr 2022
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Well, we've checked online and even though technically my wife's passport would be valid, we've decided to renew it anyway and remove all risk of dodgy interpretations by airlines and check-in staff.

Same with Mother-in-Law's passport, which was issued September 2012, but expires Feb 23.

 Vigier 27 Apr 2022
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Are the “issued less than 10 years ago” and “valid for three months” rules combined?

No. There is no need to have a passport issued less than nine years, nine months ago. The two conditions are independent of each other.
 

I’d be cautious with that: item on BBB breakfast this morning suggests otherwise- passport on entry needs to less than nine years and nine months since issue date.

 LastBoyScout 27 Apr 2022
In reply to Vigier:

> Are the “issued less than 10 years ago” and “valid for three months” rules combined?

> No. There is no need to have a passport issued less than nine years, nine months ago. The two conditions are independent of each other.

> I’d be cautious with that: item on BBB breakfast this morning suggests otherwise- passport on entry needs to less than nine years and nine months since issue date.

Yes - my Mum was on the phone earlier, as she heard the same report. We've decided to remove the risk altogether.


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