As the summer holidays fast approach, it would be wise to check your passport is in date - especially if you're planning on an exotic vacation to foreign shores.
While the end of the summer may seem a long way in the distance, the lengthy wait period for a new passport means that you should take great urgency in renewing sooner rather than later.
After all, if you haven't got the correct travel documents, you will be turned away at the airport while your friends and family embark on a week or fortnight in the sun.
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The Star reports that the UK's Passport Office advises leaving a ten week allowance period for the renewal process to be completed - starting the moment that officials receive all the required documents including your old passport. Passportwaitingtime.co.uk also state that the current average wait is 23 days - so if you apply now, you'll receive your passport towards the back end of June.
After five weeks of strikes at the Passport Office though, any backlogs may begin to rear their heads in the amount of time it takes to receive your refreshed passport. You should also take into consideration the amount of time you need left on your passport to enter various countries - which ranges from three to six months in certain locations.
Holiday hopefuls are urged to refrain from booking trips before they receive their new passports, as wait times can be significantly longer - especially in the busier periods building up to significant holidays. Should a full ten week wait be required, an application made now will be returned at the end of July.
Parents should also apply for their child's passport if they are under 16, with a new document costing £53.50 through an online application, and £64 via a paper Post Office form. Children see their passports expire every five years instead of the ten year period adults get, so your youngster's may have ran out sooner than you'd expect.
You can get more info on gov.uk/get-a-child-passport.
After Brexit, different rules have also been implemented with regards to how long left you should have on a passport when travelling. All British passport holders have to follow the Schengen area requirements for trips to EU countries barring Ireland.
Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City are all also covered by the regulations. While travel is still free at the time of writing - there is a further potential for snags. Your passport should be valid for three months after the day you plan to depart the UK, but it must also have been issued less than ten years before the date you enter the destination travelling to.
Numerous parties have been caught out by this, as they assume their passport is valid due to a far later expiry date. Should you or your child turn up to an airport with an invalid passport, you may be denied entry. You should check the issue date in your passport, which is highlighted under the 'date of issue' title.
If your passport was issued before October 1, 2018, extra months may have been added to the expiry date - but these are not valid for people entering the EU. It's also worth checking Foreign Office advice to ensure you meet strict entry requirements before booking a trip.
While the rule change is minute on the face of things, it could well be enough to tarnish a trip completely.
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