Will my passport be valid for my upcoming trip?

[bernie_eccle]

I am flying to Croatia on 2nd September 2023 and returning 12th September 2023. My UK passport was issued on 24th October 2013 and "expires" on 24th April 2024.

I have read and re-read the guidance and I still can't decide whether it will be ok or not? Do I need to have 3 months post the end of my trip, i.e. to at least 12th December 2023? Does my current passport only give me just over a month and therefore requires to be renewed before my Croatia trip?

I am thinking that I am ok for this upcoming trip but will renew after that in case I am fortunate to catch some winter sun in December of this year.

Edited by bernie_eccle on Tuesday 15th August 20:36

[aterribleusername]

Even if your passport is valid in the UK for more than 10 years (due to early renewal usually) the calculations are all done by adding 10 years to the issue date. Your actual expiry date for travel is the 23rd October this year, not December. Quite a few people have been caught out by that this summer! You should have a clear 3 months of validity at the beginning of your trip but yours fails on the 10 year rule. If you can I'd be getting a new one.

An example:

https://www.cntraveller.com/article/uk-passport-is...

Edited by aterribleusername on Tuesday 15th August 20:43

[bernie_eccle]

aterribleusername said:

Even if your passport is valid in the UK for more than 10 years (due to early renewal usually) the calculations are all done by adding 10 years to the issue date. Your actual expiry date for travel is the 23rd October this year, not December. Quite a few people have been caught out by that this summer! You should have a clear 3 months of validity at the beginning of your trip but yours fails on the 10 year rule. If you can I'd be getting a new one.

An example:

https://www.cntraveller.com/article/uk-passport-is...

Edited by aterribleusername on Tuesday 15th August 20:43

Thank you.

Oh no! So we are saying that for my passport to have been ok, it would have to have been issued no earlier than 2nd December 2013. That would mean that it was still valid for 3 months after my date of entry to Croatia (02/09/2023)?

I see from the other thread that turnaround dates are running at about 10-12 days so may just about have time to renew. Argh!! It is annoying as I knew about it but convinced myself it would be ok. I should have asked long before now!

[Suspicious_user]

If I were you I’d go for the express route to get one ASAP.

[Claret m]

bernie_eccle said:

I am flying to Croatia on 2nd September 2023 and returning 12th September 2023. My UK passport was issued on 24th October 2013 and "expires" on 24th April 2024.

I have read and re-read the guidance and I still can't decide whether it will be ok or not? Do I need to have 3 months post the end of my trip, i.e. to at least 12th December 2023? Does my current passport only give me just over a month and therefore requires to be renewed before my Croatia trip?

I am thinking that I am ok for this upcoming trip but will renew after that in case I am fortunate to catch some winter sun in December of this year.

Edited by bernie_eccle on Tuesday 15th August 20:36

However, Croatia is not in the EU, so I am not sure if the ten years from issue is relevant.

You could ask the airline.

[Alex Z]

Claret m said:

However, Croatia is not in the EU, so I am not sure if the ten years from issue is relevant.

You could ask the airline.

https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/country-profiles/croatia_en

[Sheepshanks]

Doesn’t make sense that the rules say issued within 10 years of date of entry and must have 3 months remaining validity.

If the 10yr rule was fully applied then it should say issued within 9 yrs 9 mths of date of entry.

[Semmelweiss]

Renew online, and it takes less than 10 days end-to-end. You need a photo taken that has a unique code.

[LaserTam]

bernie_eccle said:

Thank you.

Oh no! So we are saying that for my passport to have been ok, it would have to have been issued no earlier than 2nd December 2013. That would mean that it was still valid for 3 months after my date of entry to Croatia (02/09/2023)?

I see from the other thread that turnaround dates are running at about 10-12 days so may just about have time to renew. Argh!! It is annoying as I knew about it but convinced myself it would be ok. I should have asked long before now!

Mine took 5 working days, arrived Monday. Renew it today, save the stress. I used a photo booth, so no issues with rejecting the photo.

[bernie_eccle]

Thanks all. I went into the Post Office this morning and applied via them. I have 17 days so hopefully all will be OK.

[Semmelweiss]

I hope that works for you, in time. The online process takes no longer than 5 minutes, if you have your photo code.

[Suspicious_user]

bernie_eccle said:

Thanks all. I went into the Post Office this morning and applied via them. I have 17 days so hopefully all will be OK.

11 working days. Good Luck.

[Sheepshanks]

Sheepshanks said:

Doesn’t make sense that the rules say issued within 10 years of date of entry and must have 3 months remaining validity.

If the 10yr rule was fully applied then it should say issued within 9 yrs 9 mths of date of entry.

Replying to my own post, Citizens Advice says:

"You’ll need to renew your passport if either:

there’s less than 3 months left on your passport when you travel - check your passport to find out when it expires
your passport is 10 years old or more on the day you enter the EU country - count this from the date your passport was issued"

To me that reads as I suggested in my first post, and the OP should be fine as the old expiry date is still OK to be used to cover the 3 months.

I've done a reasonable seach and I can't find anything that definitively says it's OK though.


ETA: ABTA's page (if that's good enough?) confirms it:

"If your current passport was issued before 1 October 2018, you might have had extra months from your previous passport added to its expiry date. These extra months do count towards the required three months that you will need on your passport on the day you plan to leave"

https://www.abta.com/tips-and-advice/planning-and-...

Edited by Sheepshanks on Wednesday 16th August 14:45

[valiant]

Semmelweiss said:

Renew online, and it takes less than 10 days end-to-end. You need a photo taken that has a unique code.

Don’t even need that now. You can take a photo digitally at home via the passport renewal website and as long as it meets the criteria (light, background, etc) it will be accepted. They even tell you the chances of having it accepted as well.

Done my son’s a while back and turnaround was just over a week and that was with us having to redo the photo. However, it’s silly season now so hopefully you’ll be ok.

Can’t fault it really for straight forward renewals.

[craig1912]

Sheepshanks said:

Replying to my own post, Citizens Advice says:

"You’ll need to renew your passport if either:

there’s less than 3 months left on your passport when you travel - check your passport to find out when it expires
your passport is 10 years old or more on the day you enter the EU country - count this from the date your passport was issued"

To me that reads as I suggested in my first post, and the OP should be fine as the old expiry date is still OK to be used to cover the 3 months.

I've done a reasonable seach and I can't find anything that definitively says it's OK though.


ETA: ABTA's page (if that's good enough?) confirms it:

"If your current passport was issued before 1 October 2018, you might have had extra months from your previous passport added to its expiry date. These extra months do count towards the required three months that you will need on your passport on the day you plan to leave"

https://www.abta.com/tips-and-advice/planning-and-...

Edited by Sheepshanks on Wednesday 16th August 14:45

I think you are correct and the OP’s passport is OK. It’s actually quite simple:

Your UK passport must pass these tests:
On day of travel to EU, under 10 years since issue date.
On day you intend to leave the EU, at least 3 months to expiry date.

So he I able to use it as it passes both these tests.

Edited by craig1912 on Wednesday 16th August 18:25

[craig1912]

aterribleusername said:

Even if your passport is valid in the UK for more than 10 years (due to early renewal usually) the calculations are all done by adding 10 years to the issue date. Your actual expiry date for travel is the 23rd October this year, not December. Quite a few people have been caught out by that this summer! You should have a clear 3 months of validity at the beginning of your trip but yours fails on the 10 year rule. If you can I'd be getting a new one.

An example:

https://www.cntraveller.com/article/uk-passport-is...

Edited by aterribleusername on Tuesday 15th August 20:43

Nope- if you read the summary to your link it says:

Issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the “date of issue”)
Valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave.

The reporter was caught out because his passport was already 10 years old before he travelled.

[craig1912]

Sheepshanks said:

Doesn’t make sense that the rules say issued within 10 years of date of entry and must have 3 months remaining validity.

If the 10yr rule was fully applied then it should say issued within 9 yrs 9 mths of date of entry.

Nope it’s 10 years on date of entry but it can be 10 years and 3 mths (or to be precise 1 day under three months) when you leave.

[Sheepshanks]

craig1912 said:

Nope it’s 10 years on date of entry but it can be 10 years and 3 mths (or to be precise 1 day under three months) when you leave.

I’m not following what you mean there - what’s the “1 day under….” refer to?

The complication is that the dates aren’t related now - one (travel) is referenced to issue date, the other (+ >90 days) is the passport expiry.

[craig1912]

Sheepshanks said:

I’m not following what you mean there - what’s the “1 day under….” refer to?

The complication is that the dates aren’t related now - one (travel) is referenced to issue date, the other (+ >90 days) is the passport expiry.

Sorry that was a mistake- just needs three months or more validity

[bernie_eccle]

Thank you. As you can see it is far from clear. When I initially checked a couple of months ago I convinced myself that all was in order. It was only this week I talked myself out of it after I started this thread.

It is all immaterial now anyway as I have applied to renew and the old passport is on it's way to the Passport Office. Hopefully this thread will prove useful for others.

I applied on Wednesday at the Post Office however the Passport Office website only confirms that they have my application but are waiting to receive my old passport.

Squeaky bum time!