Four years on from the post-Brexit passport rules taking effect, the government of Guernsey in the Channel Islands has finally stopped issuing misleading advice to citizens about expiry dates for travel to the EU and wider Schengen Area.
Until The Independent contacted the authorities on the island, prospective travellers were warned, wrongly, that a British passport is “valid for travel into Schengen countries for nine years and nine months from its original issue date”.
After the vote to leave the European Union, the UK negotiated for citizens to become third-country nationals. As a result, a UK passport must comply with these conditions for travel to the EU and wider Schengen Area:
- No more than 10 years old on the day of arrival.
- At least three months remaining on the intended day of return.
As The Independent confirmed in 2021, these conditions are independent of each other. Some airlines, travel firms and even the UK government have previously invented their own rule that “UK passports are not valid for travel to the EU beyond nine years and nine months”.
The government of Guernsey even displayed online a photo of a passport that was issued on 15 December 2015 and is valid until 15 September 2026. This document can be used for travel out to the European Union up to 14 December 2025 for a stay of up to 90 days, ie to 15 March 2026.
But the island’s authorities maintained “the person’s return date back into the UK & Islands” must be before 15 September 2025 – subtracting six months from its actual validity.
The misleading information has been taken down. Online advice now refers users to the Foreign Office website, where they can search for their specific destination, and to official EU sources.
A spokesperson for the government of Guernsey said: “The advice we have on our website is provided to help the community ensure they are properly prepared for travel. While certain rules and areas do allow passports to be used for over 10 years, as you have correctly pointed out, many members of our community have previously encountered issues with airlines at check-ins where those airlines do not recognise this is the case and have not been allowed on to their flight.
“Our advice, therefore, is aimed to help the community ensure they do not encounter these issues. Going forwards we will ensure our websites simply refer people to the FCDO and EU websites.”
The Guernsey government also says that travellers “will need a visa to travel to Europe in 2025”.
This is a reference to Etias, the Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System – a proposed permit for visitors to the Schengen Area.
But as The Independent has informed the island’s authorities, there is no possibility that anyone from the UK or the Channel Islands will need an Etias in 2025 – and it is most unlikely that they will need one in 2026.
Before Etias is introduced, it will require the much-postponed EU Entry/Exit System (EES) to be working perfectly across the Schengen Area for at least six months.
The latest target date for the introduction of the EES is October 2025, and for Etias “the last quarter of 2026”.
Even when Etias is running, it will be optional for the first six months.
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