How to check whether your UK passport will be valid after Brexit

While there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding Brexit, the one thing that is clear is that the rules for passports will change if we leave the EU without a deal.

UK passport holders will need a minimum of six months left on their travel documents in order to visit much of Europe.

To clarify matters, the government has launched a new tool to help British travellers find out if their passport will be valid after March 29 – the day the UK officially leaves the EU.

The ‘Check a Passport’ service online needs the user’s travel destination, date of travel, date of birth, date the passport was issued and the date it expires and will then confirm whether the passport will be valid for the journey in question.

You can click here to check yours

What are the rules for passports?

The rules for travel to most countries in Europe change if the UK leaves the European Union (EU) with no deal.

After 29 March 2019:

• You should have at least 6 months left on your passport from your date of arrival. This applies to adult and child passports.
• If you renewed a passport before it expired, extra months may have been added to your new passport’s expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months that should be remaining for travel to most countries in Europe.

The new rules will apply to passports issued by the UK, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Which countries will be affected by the new rules?

The new rules will apply for travel to and between countries in the Schengen area. These are:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

The new rules do not apply when travelling to Ireland.

What should I do if my passport doesn’t meet the new rules?

If your passport doesn’t meet the new rules, you should apply for a new passport before travelling to the countries affected.ADVERTISING

When will we get a blue passport?

After Brexit, some burgundy passports will continue to be issued but they will not refer to the European Union.

The newly designed blue passport will be phased in from the autumn of 2019 and standard passport renewal fees will apply.

There is no need for UK passport holders to do anything prior to their current passport renewal date as existing burgundy passports will remain valid.