Topic	Check Your Passport Before Travelling To The European Union (EU)
Read Time	5 Minutes
Author	Laura Radford, Travel Writer

Whilst the internet has seen many scaremongering articles related to those with UK passports, there is truth behind some of the fake news you may have seen, and with some travel influencers recently reporting how they got ‘stuck’, its well worth double checking your documents, the next time you’re heading to the EU, and here’s why…

UK passport holders, that’s a passport that’s burgundy, not one of the newer navy-coloured passports that have been issued since Brexit, need to check the issue date of their passports before traveling to the EU because of changes that occurred due to the UK leaving the EU. Since it is no longer a member, UK passport holders are now considered ‘third-country nationals’ when traveling to the EU.

The European Union has a rule that requires all third-country nationals to have a passport that was issued within the last 10 years and has at least three months' validity remaining. This means that if you hold a UK (burgundy) passport and it was issued more than 10 years ago, it may not be valid for travel to the EU.

On top of that, if you are a UK passport holder who has already renewed their passports before they expired, you may also find that the "issue date" on your new passport is the date when the renewal was processed, rather than the date when the original passport was issued. So, although it may appear to be less than 10 years old, it may not meet the EU's requirements if the original passport was issued more than 10 years ago.

Our advice is to check the issue date of your passport and ensure you have at least three months’ validity remaining beyond your intended stay in the EU before you travel, to be sure your trip goes without a hiccup! Worth noting too that if you do need to renew, passport office workers are currently on strike to just before the bank holiday, which is leading to long delays in passport renewal. It pays to be prepared for upcoming travel plans!

If you’re passport prepared and ready for your next Marvellous Escape, get in touch with us today!