How to avoid passport chaos caused by post-Brexit rule changes

timeSince Brexit, UK rules on the validity of passports for EU tourists have tightened.

Now, data from the Ministry of Interior obtained by the British Broadcasting Corporation suggests as many as 32 million people could be trapped.

After the UK leaves the EU, British travelers become “third country nationals”, along with citizens of dozens of other countries, including Venezuela and Samoa.

EU countries do not allow such travelers to enter with passports issued more than 10 years ago. The same applies to the wider Schengen area, which includes Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. British visitors to Ireland are exempt from this restriction.

Before Brexit, Passport Office policy was to issue UK travel documents with a validity period of up to 10 years and nine months, taking into account any unused time on the previous passport.

While this has not previously caused any problems, it is starting to affect some British holidaymakers traveling to the EU.

According to my calculations, under normal circumstances, 200 outbound passengers are unable to leave the country a day due to EU regulations on issuance and validity.

So, how do you make sure you don’t get stopped when checking in? Need to renew now? When is the best time to submit an application?

I’ll be answering all your passport questions at an AMA on Wednesday 27th March at 4pm (GMT). I’ll answer them live in the comments section below.

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