Anyone who owns a red passport could be ‘at risk’ of being turned away at airport
Calling all red passport holders - you've been warned.
Many of us still have some much-needed days of holiday to look forward to this summer and between packing your suitcase, sorting your luggage tag out and generally getting beach ready - you need to make sure your passport is A-okay ahead of your departure date.
If you renewed your passport after the UK left the EU in 2020, you'll have a blue one and nothing to worry about - assuming the condition of it is dandy - however, anyone who owns a pre-2019 red passport could be 'at risk' of being turned away at the airport.
Advert
To double-check your passport is valid, you need to take a look at the date on it which needs to have been issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the EU country (date of issue).
Now, the HM Passport Office stopped issuing these red British passports before 31 December, 2020.
This means that if you're set to jet off somewhere sunnier to kick off the New Year with a bang from 1 January onwards and your passport is set to expire 31 March, you will need to get a new passport before you travel as you need a three month minimum window beyond your departure date.
So, to avoid chaos at the airport when you'd rather be popping some Prosecco, be sure to check the date of issue on your passport to see if it has been issued within ten years of the day you land abroad.
Then, add another three months onto the date that you're planning to leave the country and double-check to see if your passport expires after that.
If you find that your passport isn't valid - you've got two options moving forward.
You can either apply for a passport renewal which can take up to three weeks but can take longer during busy periods or, if you're departure is sooner rather than later, get an emergency travel document.
An emergency travel document is typically ready for collection two working days after an application is paid and received in the UK so bear this in mind ahead of time.
A passport renewal will set you back £88.50 if you apply online or a slightly more expensive £100 if you fill in a paper form, while an emergency passport comes attached with £100 non-refundable fee if you apply online.
Rhiannon Ingle