Travel experts are warning the millions of Brits still carrying burgundy passports to check for one thing ahead of any upcoming flights
Experts are advising British travellers still using old burgundy passports that they could face travel disruptions or worse, be turned away at airports over this passport policy. To avoid trouble, travel specialists are urging British passengers to double check their passport’s issue date well ahead of any upcoming flight plans.
Many Brits—over 32 million—still have the old burgundy passports but these essential documents can sometimes cause confusion or hold-ups at the airport as the expiry date may not align exactly with the date of issue. As it stands, British passports are only valid for 10 years from the date of issue. This applies specifically for passports issued after 2018.
However, if your passport was issued before September 2018, it is potentially valid for 10 years and nine months. The extra months of leeway is due to a now axed practice by which the passport office added nine months from your old passport to your new one.
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But why is this significant for British travellers? Travel experts are reminding passengers ahead of any spring and summer holidays to check the expiry on theirs – ensuring it aligns with the entry requirements at whichever country they are travelling to. Essentially, anyone with a burgundy passport issued prior to September 2018 may still have a few months left on their passport and they are still valid for travel worldwide. Travel in Europe is an exception to this however, as regulations demand passports must be less than 10 years old.
Travel experts also advise upcoming passengers to scan their passports for damage ahead of flying, as even minor damage can result in delays. According to the HM Passport Office: “In most cases the customer will only need to send in their damaged passport unless they are overseas and must send in extra identity evidence
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The Office continues: “Local Service offices will send damaged passports back to HM Passport Office for processing. You, the examiner, must ask the customer for extra documents if any of their personal details have changed since we issued their previous passport.”
According to the UK government website, you must renew your passport before you can travel if either:
- Your passport has expired
- You do not have enough time left on it
Keep in mind you also require your old passport for the renewal process. Supporting documents needed for UK passport renewal are:
- Your old passport
- Any valid passports you have from a different country. This means sending either a colour photocopy of every page (including blank pages) or the actual physical passport.
The cost of UK passport renewal is £88.50 and the process can be conducted online with the following:
- A digital photo (This must be a new photo that has been taken in the last month)
- Dimensions: at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall; at least 50KB and no more than 10MB
- A credit or debit card
- Your current passport(s)
