Brexit passport warning for millions of Brits – renew today or risk No Deal EU travel ban

With three weeks to go until Brexit on March 29, consumer group Which? has warned travellers who have less than 15 months left on their passport to apply for a new one now if they plan to travel after we leave the EU.

Earlier this year, the government issued advice that EU countries could bar Brits from entering if there is a No Deal Brexit.

The UK Foreign Office warned: "If the UK leaves the European Union with no deal, the passport validity rules for travel to most countries in Europe will change from 29 March 2019.

"Some passports with up to 15 months validity remaining may not be valid for travel."

This is because when passports are renewed, up to nine months of validity from the old passports are carried over.

Why do I need 15 months left on my passport?

At the moment, Brits who renew their passport before it's expired can carry up to nine months over to their new passport.

So a new passport can have the maximum validity of 10 years and nine months.

In a No Deal Brexit scenario, Brits visiting Schengen Area countries, including Spain, France and Greece, will be governed by the same rules as visitors from non-EU countries.

This means that they will need at least six months left on their passport to enter the EU, and their passport must have been issued in the last ten years.

It creates a loophole that makes the extra nine months that were carried over invalid in the Schengen Area.

That's why Brits who carried over the full nine months when they last renewed would need at least 15 months left on the passport after Brexit – nine months to account for the now-invalid time carried over, plus six months for the required validity.

The Government has a free passport checker that you can use to check whether you need to renew your passport before you travel, which you can find here.

However, in a No Deal situation, the time carried over will no longer be valid.

Countries popular with British tourists like France, Spain and Portugal could all be affected.

This could lead to a rush in passport applications in the UK following previous advice that just six months validity would be needed.

Passport renewal can take up to three weeks to arrive, although it can be much longer during busy periods

Britons travelling immediately after Brexit in March, for example, would need to have a passport which is valid until at least June 2020.

What are the Schengen Area countries?

There are 26 countries in the Schengen Area:

  1. Austria
  2. Belgium
  3. Czech Republic
  4. Denmark
  5. Estonia
  6. Finland
  7. France
  8. Germany
  9. Greece
  10. Hungary
  11. Iceland
  12. Italy
  13. Latvia
  14. Liechtenstein
  15. Lithuania
  16. Luxembourg
  17. Malta
  18. Netherlands
  19. Norway
  20. Poland
  21. Portugal
  22. Slovakia
  23. Slovenia
  24. Spain
  25. Sweden
  26. Switzerland.

According to Which? Travel's figures obtained from the Home Office, approximately 3.5million British passports won't be valid in a No Deal situation – with 1.5million of those set to travel in the spring or summer.

Anxious Brits can use a passport checker to see if theirs might fall foul of a No Deal Brexit.

Additional driving permits after Brexit may also be needed, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the event of a no-deal.

There are three types of International Driving Permits (IDP) which may be required, depending on the country.

A 1926 IDP is needed if driving through Liechtenstein, while a 1949 IDP is needed for Cyprus, Ireland, Iceland, Malta and Spain.

A 1986 IDP would be needed for all other EU countries.

The permits cost £5.50 each from a number of Post Office branches in the UK.

A new passport checking tool allows Brits to see if they need to purchase a new document before travelling after Brexit.

The checker analyses the dates of travel and how long is left on the passport before offering advice on whether it needs to be renewed.

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