Martin Lewis has issued an urgent passport warning to millions of Brits planning a holiday this summer.
International travel rules have changed since Brexit and you may not be let into an EU country if your passport is about to expire.
Before the UK left the EU, you could travel into EU countries right up until the expiry date of your passport.
But since Brexit has taken place, you now need to have a passport that is valid for at least three months on the date that you exit the EU.
It must also have been issued in the past ten years at the time of entry.
If your passport was issued before October 2018, extra months might have been added to its expiry date - these would no longer be valid.
This is because the EU now looks at the issue date not the expiry date when letting you in.
Some further away countries outside the EU want travellers to have at least six months left on their passport, but this was the case before Brexit.
Speaking during his one-off Martin Lewis Money Show Live broadcast on ITV this evening, Martin urged anyone planning a trip to check their passport now.
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“You need to check if you’re going away; do you have six months or more left at the time you go away, and will the passport be under ten years old when you travel?” he said.
“There are many countries now where you won’t be allowed in unless you can fulfil those criteria.
“Since Brexit, even EU countries require UK passports to have three months left on them now for you to get in, and the passport must be under ten years old.
“Lots of people miss that second one, so check that.”
The three-month rule does not apply to Ireland but does apply to some non-EU countries too - Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City.
If your passport is due to run out soon, Martin recommended getting it renewed as soon as possible due to huge Home Office delays.
The Home Office, which issues all UK passports, is currently advising travellers to wait up to ten weeks for their passport to be renewed.
However, some families say they’ve been left waiting 12 weeks and fear their summer holidays won’t be able to go ahead if their documents don’t arrive in time.
There have been warnings of a huge demand in passport applications following the easing of international travel rules after the Covid pandemic.
Martin warned: “If your passport is out of date, or you need a new one, be aware there are big delays at the Passport Office, which is why you should be doing your check now.”
