Understanding UK Passport Expiry Rules: Don’t Let Your Trip Be Ruined

Since I started creating content on TikTok, it has come to my attention how little people understand UK passport expiry and issue dates. And I don’t mean that in a horrible way. A lot of people think the expiry date is X, therefore you must be able to use it up until X. However, this is not the case. Then the EU decided to throw a curve ball to make it even trickier to understand. Here’s what you need to know.

Passport Expiry Dates Explained

Even if it sounds totally confusing, if I can make someone stop and think for a second, or make them aware that there are SO many different rules, my job is done. Across travel Facebook groups I’m in, on my TikTok comments etc, people are still being denied boarding from rules they were not aware of all the time!

@englandandeverywhere

EU & Schengen Entry Requirement for UK passports! If you renewed your passport before 1st October 2018 your passport may have been issued for longer than 10yrs. The EU have a 10yr requirement where a UK passport can not be older than 10yrs on the date of entry. Even if you have 3 months left before your expiry, you may not actually be allowed to enter sooner than expected. #uktravel #ukpassport #ukpassports #britishpassport #eutravel #europetraveltips #passport #passports #entryrequirements

♬ original sound – Kylie✈️Budget Conscious Travel

For Travel In The EU (& Schengen)

The EU and Schengen area have 2 main rules:

• Must be valid for 3 months AFTER the day you plan to leave. (Look at EXPIRY date)
• Passports can be no older than 10 years from the issue date. (Look at ISSUE date)

Expiry Date

With the first point, essentially you cannot travel right up to the expiration date, you need at least 3 months of wiggle room. It is calculated from the day you LEAVE the EU to go back to the UK. So if you were going on a 2 week holiday, in theory you need 3.5 months remaining when you first enter.

Issue Date

The second point is where things get confusing.

If you renewed your passport BEFORE Oct 2018 it may have a printed expiry date OVER 10 years. When you used to renew a passport before the 10 year mark, the leftover months on the old passport were added onto the new one (up to 9 months). This changed after leaving the EU and they no longer recognise these added months. Instead they calculate 10 years from the issue date.

(The black/blue passports are only issued for 10 years exactly, it’s mostly the old burgundy ones that may have the additional months).

In the video above I used my old passport as an example. My issue was September 2015, but my expiry was June 2026. In the eyes on the EU, I wouldn’t be able to enter after September 2025, 9 full months before the printed expiry.

The 3 months before the expiry rule would be March 2026. In my case, I had a weird grey area of 6 months. You need to be looking at both the ISSUE and the EXPIRY to calculate it correctly.

If your passport is exactly 10 years or you renewed AFTER October 2018, you would just deduct from the printed expiry as expected.

(EU & Schengen Area countries include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden and Switzerland)

For Travel Outside Of The EU

The rest of the world mostly acknowledge the printed expiry date, even with the additional months over 10 years.

HOWEVER. Each country has different requirements as to how long they require a passport to be valid for, to enter the country.

For example:

• USA = valid for length of stay (no need for extra months)
• Türkiye= 150 days before expiry
• Thailand = 6 months etc

One that seems to catch people out a lot is the Türkiye one. For some reason people assume it’s 3 months like the EU. I don’t know if this is down to the likes of Jet2 doing holidays there. They mostly serve countries in the EU so maybe people just assume it’s the same?

So going back to the example above, I wouldn’t be able to enter Spain after September 2025, BUT I could use it to visit the USA right up until June 2026…confusing hey!

My Tips & Recommendations

Gov.UK

I use gov.uk to find out what is required. I highly, HIGHLY recommend using this before EVERY trip you take. Even as I frequent traveller I ALWAYS check it.

You can type ‘[COUNTRY] entry requirements’ into a search engine and look for the gov.uk result, and it will explain exactly what you need under the passport requirements’ section. It will tell you how much is required before the expiry date, as well as any visas or forms you may need to fill in.

Unlike Google who can’t display official links at the top of the page anymore (the official USA ESTA site is miles down page 1, the top results charge $100 MORE than the legit fee), Gov.uk is a guaranteed way to make sure you are in the right place.

Alternatively, bookmark this page here: Foreign Travel Advice, where you can see all the countries listed.

Passport Checkers

If you don’t want to worry about doing passport maths, or just the thought of it is frying your brain, there are a couple of online passport checkers. You can enter your passport details as well as your trip dates and country, and it will tell you in black and white if it’s valid or not.

It’s quite good, because you can do it well before your trip dates. This way if it wasn’t in date, you’d have plenty of time to try and get it sorted before your trip.

I have so many people comment on my videos that realise just a few days before their flight that their passport doesn’t have enough time remaining. It’s then too late to try and get an emergency appointment to get a new passport in time.

The TUI Passport Checker does it for EU & Schengen area countries, so you will not be able to calculate for countries like Türkiye. However Confused.com Passport Checker does have more countries on their one.

I would always double check the rules yourself though on gov.uk, just so you have a rough idea.

When To Renew

Personally, I like to renew early, so whether it’s before the old expiration, new expiration, 3 months, 6 months, I’m covered for wherever in the world I might want to go. I’d rather be safe than leave it too late. If you are on top of the maths, of course in cases like visiting the US, you could travel up to the expiry, even if it’s not valid for EU travel. I’d just rather not push it so close.

Passports Issued for 10yrs

Rule of thumb is to renew 6 months before the expiry date.

If your passport is exactly 10 years old so the months match (July 2016 to July 2026), I would 100% recommend doing it 6 months before. (Renew = Jan 2026).

Yes, in theory to meet entry requirements for many countries, a passport is technically only valid for 9.5 years, rather than 10 years. So many people feel this is a bit of a scam. But instead, view those 6 months as being there for an emergency.

If you enter somewhere and then the airline goes bust, you end up getting sick and can’t fly etc etc, the country know that you still have time remaining to be able to leave on a valid document.

Passports Issued for over 10yrs

HOWEVER.

If your passport has the additional months on over 10 years (so the months DON’T match), I would first deduct 6 months from the expiry, THEN check the 10yrs from issue. If the 10yr issue date comes first, renew before that.

• EXAMPLE 1 – passport with 9 months extra:

Issue: Sept 2015 (10 years from issue = Sept 2025)

Expiry: June 2026 (Minus 6 months from expiry = Dec 2025)

RENEW = before Sept 2025

• EXAMPLE 2 – passport with 1 month extra:

Issue: Sept 2015 (10 years from issue = Sept 2025)

Expiry: October 2025 (Minus 6 months from expiry = April 2025)

RENEW = before April 2025

Once we reach October 2028 and all the passports that were originally issued for longer than 10 years are out of circulation, hopefully things will be a little more simpler!

If you have any questions, feel free to head over to my TikTok, I try to answer every comment I receive on my videos!

Last Updated on October 1, 2025