Birmingham Mail online 30 August 2019 - article by James Rodger
Will your passport be valid after Brexit? That's the question on everybody's lips as they head home from their summer holidays.
Thousands across Birmingham will return to the city across the coming days and weeks as the summer holidays end. September brings with it a return to the classroom for school pupils. And as children head back into schools across the city and throughout the Midlands, Brexit uncertainty remains.
British travellers will be subject to new rules if we leave the EU without a deal.
Worryingly, some passports won’t be accepted for travel to Schengen Area countries.
These include Spain and Italy - if the UK leaves the EU without an agreement on 31 October 2019.
The rules say passports must have been issued within the past decade,
They must also have at least six months’ validity remaining on the day of travel.
Brits renewing passport before the expiration date, until very recently, saw any remaining validity added to the validity of the new passport.
But this will not be valid for travel to Schengen Area countries, which could potentially spark travel chaos.
To be on the safe side, you can check if you need to renew by using the government’s online Passport Checker .
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal the rules for how much time you’ll need on your passport to travel to Europe will change.
The Home Office says: "New rules will apply for travel to Europe if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
"You should have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland).
"If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed."
You’ll need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport.
List of countries affected
The new rules will apply for travel to and between most countries in Europe. These are:
- Andorra
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Vatican City
