Passport problem!

[.Z.]

Wonder if any of you folks can help

Basically a friend and I want to go on a spur of the moment holiday pronto, one small problem is that their passport expires in January 2007, a lot of places need a passport valid for at least 6 months from now and the passport office is fully booked till next Tuesday which is no good.

The travel agent says the only place in Europe which we can travel to with less than 6 months validity is parts of Spain, thats it. Surely this is wrong, when I drove across Europe there weren't any border controlls through France, Belgium, Holland and into Germany!

So does anyone know if she can travel to a European country with less than 6 months left?

Thanks in advance.

P.s. anyone know why a British passport is so worthless compared to a French or German one on which you can travel into some countries, like Malta, even if its 5 years expired?

[King Herald]

.Z. said:

P.s. anyone know why a British passport is so worthless compared to a French or German one on which you can travel into some countries, like Malta, even if its 5 years expired?

It is a general rule that your passport must have six months left on it in just about every country I've been to. I'd guess that seeing as Malta is part of the EU then you wouldn't need a passport to get in really, depending on where you were arriving from.

I find it rather hard to believe that anybody got anywhere on a five year expired passport to tell the truth, unless the immigration guys were half asleep that day. Unless it was used purely as some sort of ID.

[J111]

.Z. said:

So does anyone know if she can travel to a European country with less than 6 months left?

Yes. Almost all of them. It's generally 3 months, not six.

You may wish to check more than one source, but:

www.expedia.co.uk/daily/service/passport.asp?rfrr=-1474

is helpful.

.Z. said:

P.s. anyone know why a British passport is so worthless compared to a French or German one on which you can travel into some countries, like Malta, even if its 5 years expired?

We don't have a national ID card, which can be used in lieu, and because we didn't sign the Schengen Agreement.

[.Z.]

King Herald said:

It is a general rule that your passport must have six months left on it in just about every country I've been to. I'd guess that seeing as Malta is part of the EU then you wouldn't need a passport to get in really, depending on where you were arriving from.

I find it rather hard to believe that anybody got anywhere on a five year expired passport to tell the truth, unless the immigration guys were half asleep that day. Unless it was used purely as some sort of ID.

Thanks for the reply although the 5 year expired passport thing is true, straight from the Maltese Foreign Affairs website: www.mfa.gov.mt/showdoc.aspx?id=12&filesource=4&file=VISA%20REQUIREMENTS%20FOR%20FOREIGN%20NATIONALS%20010504.pdf

So you definately need a 6 months valid passport to travel to another E.U. country? Why different rules for us Brits when many European countries on the mainland have open borders?

Just seen your reply J111, Cheers for that, I'm gonna dig for further info

Edited by .Z. on Monday 24th July 13:49

[mmm-five]

You don't 'need' a passport to travel within the EU - you simply need some form of accepted identification - unfortunately the only option for UK citizens the passport as no-one seems to want the national ID card.

Most EU countries only require a valid passport (no 6 month stipulation) - however there are exceptions and you'd need to check for your specific holiday destination.

Have you tried other regional passport offices to see what appointments they have - alternatively either go to your local office and wait, or pay the extra and get an express application done. I got my last one done in 4 hours, although I had to pay about £80.

[FUGatso]

I wnet to tenerife recently and my passport expired 2 days after my return to Blighty, the passport checks noticed the date on my way out raised an eyebrow and asked when i was returning, no problem.

[dangouv]

I flew to Portugal with less than 2 weeks left on my passport and had no problems whatsoever apart from a reminder from the check in lady that it was due to expire soon. I was only there for 8 days so returned before it expired.

[timc]

All of the above is correct - use a UK passport in the EU and most accession states right up to expiry. Within the EU a full passport is also valid, as there are no border stamps.

You can also travel to the US on less than 6 months under the Visa Waiver Program - all that will happen is your permission to stay will expire at the same time as the passport.

The real problems can occur if you are detained for any reason, (e.g. illness), and end up over-staying.

[esselte]

So are we saying that a 10 year passport is no such thing and is only valid for 9.5 years?

[Tyre Smoke]

.Z. said:

German one on which you can travel into some countries, like Malta, even if its 5 years expired?

They couldn't get in with or without one in 1942

[deva link]

timc said:

You can also travel to the US on less than 6 months under the Visa Waiver Program - all that will happen is your permission to stay will expire at the same time as the passport.

This often comes up regarding the US and what you say is correct *BUT* many airlines have rules and regs (which you sign up to when you buy a ticket) that say you must have 6 mths on your passport. I don't know if the same thing applies for travel within Europe.

[hollypop]

Best get a new one before October...www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1228661,00.html

[chrisgr31]

King Herald said:

I find it rather hard to believe that anybody got anywhere on a five year expired passport to tell the truth, unless the immigration guys were half asleep that day. Unless it was used purely as some sort of ID.

We went to France for a week a couple of weeks ago. The only time our passports were looked at was on the return journey!

[munky]

It should be fine in the EU, I flew to Munich in December with only 3 months left on the passport

[sheepy]

On a similar note, if I order a new one does it run from the application date or from the expiry of the old one?

[munky]

sheepy said:

On a similar note, if I order a new one does it run from the application date or from the expiry of the old one?

[quote=www.passport.gov.uk/faqs/faq.asp?strAreaNo=321_1&intelement=979]
You do not have to wait until your passport expires before you renew it. If you renew your passport before it expires, any unexpired period of validity rounded up to the nearest whole month (minimum of one month, maximum of nine months) will be added to your new passport. This period is calculated from the point at which your new passport is authorised for issue, not from date of application. You therefore need to apply at least six weeks before your passport expires to get this benefit[/quote]
IIRC you only get this if you send your old passport in with the application (which they cancel). Don't expect to get the old one back unless you pay extra for registered delivery. Theoretically you can get the old one back by 2nd class post for free but I tried that and it got lost