“Millions face ‘Friday deadline’ to renew passports in case of no-deal”
“Up to 3.5 million people warned they have until tomorrow to renew their passports to guarantee travel in Europe if the UK crashes out of the EU”.
“An estimated 1.5 million British Passports wont be valid for travel to Europe in a no deal Brexit”

Phew! having read last week’s headlines, I’ve just checked my passport and found I’ve still got 4 years plus to spare.  Following last week’s reports that the official HM site crashed following an avalanche of visitors what exactly does it mean for all of us and what exactly is the official advice?

Mindful that one of the benefits of solo travel of any sorts is that we’re more able to take advantage of last minute deals & travel discounts to help make our budget go further, or even just travel on a bit of whim, are you ready to go? Have you checked your passport?

THE BOTTOM LINE FACTs – What’s behind the headlines?

IF the UK exits the EU without a deal and there is a ‘no deal Brexit’ later this month the government has said that millions of us, (around 3.5 million of us it seems) with less than as much as 15 months of valid time left on our passports may not be able to travel to France, Spain and 26 other European Union countries. (Also known as the Schengen Area countries, these are countries who formed a single jurisdiction for travel, agreed a common visa policy and officially abolished passport and all other types of border control on mutual borders).

So as we approach the BREXIT deadline with no agreement, the government is now taking steps to warn people whose passports are approaching expiry and who may be affected. As well as texting you to let you know (if they have your mobile number) the government will be a launching a national publicity campaign to let us know what we need to do.

So should the UK exit the EU without a deal later this month, and you then need to renew your passport before you originally planned, or even if you’re not worried but planned to renew your passport anyway here’s a quick summary of the facts with a reminder of a few DOs and DON’Ts:

  • HM Passport Office is the sole issuer of UK passports and responsible for civil registration services through the General Register Office.  No matter what they may claim on their websites, no one else aside from the official HM Government Passport Office can issue Passports for you.
  • There is absolutely no need to use an external passport service company and pay them for their services. They can’t get it any quicker than you can, and you would have to supply them with your highly confidential information so they could do it on your behalf anyway.
  • As always be on your guard for Passport scam sites, designed to look official with all sorts of fake security logos and uncannily similar to the government sites. Also be aware of uninvited phishing e mails and scams offering passport services.
  • It costs £75.50 to renew or replace your passport if you apply online or £85 if you fill out a paper form.
  • HM Passport office currently states that it should take 3 weeks to get a passport, but they do run different speeded up services if you need it urgently; a paper premium service, an online premium service and a 1-week Fast Track service – all of which cost a bit more.  (You can track the progress of your passport online with all these Passport renewal options now).
  • Holidaymakers arriving at an airport without the valid passport time needed will be prevented from travelling. The guidance also seems to be that air passengers unable to travel because their passport isn’t valid won’t get a refund on their flight ticket and won’t be able to claim on travel insurance
  • If you do have 15 months or less on your passport – it will still be fine for the rest of the world; i.e. countries outside of those in the European Union
  • Up until recently, UK passports renewed before they expired has any remaining validity added to the new passports, up to a maximum of 9 months. This doesn’t happen now. Time left on your old passport will not be added to your new one.
  • IF we exit the EU without a deal any passports with more than 10 years on them not be valid in Schengen Area countries now.
  • If we exit EU with a deal you may want to hold fire if you already have a valid passport with 6 months or more left to go on it. You may not need to do anything.

FIND OUT MORE FROM THE OFFICIAL HM GOVERNMENT WEBSITE HERE