Banned from Europe: 2.4 million Britons caught in post-Brexit passport chaos

Post-Brexit passport rules, which ban millions of Britons from entering the EU, will cause chaos over the Easter holidays.

As the holidays officially begin on Thursday, an estimated 2.4 million travelers have documents that cannot be used to travel to the EU due to changes in validity requirements.

Since Brexit, UK passports must be issued less than 10 years after leaving the EU and must expire at least three months before the expected date of return. But millions of passports issued before September 2018 are valid for longer.

Analysis basis independent With 200 people breaching the rule at UK airports every day, thousands more are expected to have their holidays ruined over the coming holidays.

The rule change comes after the UK struck a Brexit deal with the EU, which placed the UK, along with Venezuela and Samoa, in a category of “third country nationals” with different expiry rules than when they were members. This means Britons will be turned away at airports, ferries and trains traveling to Europe, even if they have previously traveled to the EU on the same documents.

The 17-day Easter holiday is a particularly busy period for British tourists, with 6.4 million people expected to travel from the UK to Europe – 1.6 million over the bank holiday weekend alone.

Extending the validity of an old passport is an effective way to avoid wasting the life of the passport, as the holder can renew up to nine months in advance without wasting any time. But after the rule change, many people mistakenly thought they had more time to enter the EU with their existing passport than they actually had.

For example, anyone holding a passport issued before March 28, 2014 will be banned from traveling to Europe today, even if they are months away from expiring. The confusing rule could affect everyone whose passport was issued before September 2018: an estimated 32 million people.

A traveler named Ruth Wade was recently preparing to board a flight from Manchester Airport to Zurich via Brussels to attend her son’s wedding. But she was refused because her passport was expired after 10 years.

“I had checked in 24 hours ago,” she told independent. “I handed our passports over to the counter. The Brussels Airlines lady just looked at me and said, ‘You can’t travel with this passport, it’s expired. “

“My answer was: ‘No, not yet, it doesn’t expire until October 2024.’ She went on to say it didn’t matter, it was 10 years from the date of issue.”

Within a few days, the 10-year validity period of the passport expired.

“I was distraught,” Ms. Wade said. “She looked at my husband and said, ‘You can leave, but she can’t.’

“She didn’t offer any advice, just said it had been in the news. I don’t listen or read the news and I wouldn’t be interested in the passport issue because my passport is still valid for seven months.”

Ms Wade booked a fast-track appointment at the British Passport Office in Liverpool and needed to check into a hotel and buy a new flight.

“We needed to go to Zurich to see our son who was about to get married. We had to rebook our flight and lost money on the original flight. Being upset and depressed was just not what it was.”

Official figures show that in March 2014, the UK Passport Office issued 706,000 passports. independent It is estimated that there are approximately 500,000 adult passports, 80% of which are due for renewal, which may add additional months.

Since the validity period of these 400,000 passports is approximately 10 years and 6 months, the window for violation is 6 months, so approximately 2.4 million passports may be affected.

Airports such as Edinburgh, Newcastle and Bristol are already expecting their busiest Easter ever, with two million people expected to fly from UK airports between Good Friday and Easter Monday, mostly to the EU and Wider Schengen Area.

The Geneva route will be very busy, popular with winter sports enthusiasts, while Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Tenerife are prime destinations for spring sun breaks.

For city breaks, Amsterdam, Barcelona, ​​Paris and Rome are the most popular. Dubai, Orlando and New York are the main long-distance destinations.

Accordingly, the number of European family trips increases significantly during Easter: Turkey’s main tourist season has not yet started, while Egypt is not particularly popular for short holidays due to its long flight time.

Airlines insist it is passengers’ responsibility to ensure they comply with their destination’s immigration rules. Travel insurance companies will not cover losses related to passport validity issues.

A government spokesman said: “Renewing your passport online or at the post office is quick and easy.

“We advise all customers not to book travel without a passport that meets their travel needs.”