Martin Lewis warns Brits to do two checks on passports before going on holiday this summer
Topics: Martin Lewis, UK News, Travel
Dominic Smithers
Featured Image Credit: ITV/Pexels
Topics: Martin Lewis, UK News, Travel
Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to anyone going on holiday this summer.
Most of us have already started booking our trips abroad for the coming weeks, searching for the best deals on hotels and flights.
But while you might be all consumed by the where and the when, the Money Saving Expert says there's something more pressing we need to be thinking about.
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Discussing holiday plans, the 51-year-old explained there are two things travellers really need to have a look at before they even book their holiday.
The first, he says, most of us simply don't do, and it could land us in a bit of bother.
"You need to check that it is under 10 years old on the day you enter the country - people get caught out by that - that is a common condition as some British passports are over 10 years old and they’re still valid, but you often can’t travel on that," Martin said during his Money Show Live.
The second, he explained, was about the importance of checking the rules for the country you're heading to.
Martin said that some - though not all - require you to have at least six months left on your passport before entering.
He said: "Let me be plain, [if you have] an invalid passport, the travel insurance company will not allow your claim if that’s the reason you can’t go on holiday.
"So, I’m afraid, you need to sort this.”
As well as making sure you've got your passport sorted, Martin previously warned about changes being made to another document that we all need to be aware of.
The document the financial whizz is talking about, of course, is the European Health Insurance Card, better known as the EHIC.
He explained that it is set to transition to the Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) following Brexit.
The card, you may know if you've had to use it in the past, allows holidaymakers to access healthcare while travelling in all EU countries - as well as Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland - without having to foot a huge medical bill.
And with 5.4 million of the EHIC cards set to expire this year, Martin urged people to check if theirs was in date, and if not, to get themselves a new GHIC instead.
He said: "By the way, do you know how many more countries you can go to with the global one than the European one? None. It's exactly the same and they're only in Europe.
"Interestingly, it's actually a few less than it was a few years ago, but I won't get into the politics of that.
"They [Global Health Insurance Cards] won't be out of date at the moment.
"To get one or to renew one, it is always free. Go to Nhs.uk. If you go on a search engine and it puts you somewhere that wants to charge you or charge you for a fast track. They are shysters. They are not real. You NEVER pay for this. There's no such thing as a fast track. Official sites will not charge you."