Passport validity to Greece question?

poppie123

My eldest Daugher has just telephoned me to say that she has booked a holiday with First Choice going to Zante on the 31st of May for herself and her 17 year old Sister.

The only trouble is her sisters passport expires on the 7th of July. First Choice have said it is fine but i just wanted to double check.

The fco website says that countires in the EEA it only has to be valid for the duration of stay. Now i am going to sound really dumb but are the UK part of the EEA?:embarasse

I have also telephoned the Greek Embassy in London and there is a recorded message saying the British passports only need to be valid for the period of stay.

I Still can't help but worry though. It's a bit late in the day to get a new passport now, She is away with college until next Tuesday.

McAzrael

Yes, UK is in the EEA. It's the EU plus a few others (Norway, Lichtenstein, Switzerland and Iceland off the top of my head) who are just joined in the customs union. Kind of like an EU-lite. EEA = European Economic Area.

moonrakerz

There are very few countries that actually require passports to be valid beyond the duration of an intended stay.

The main causes of this problem are travel agents, tour companies and cruise lines who impose the stupid six month rule, on everyone, to prevent any problems with the few people they are actually sending to some of the more outlandish places.

balletshoes

Don't worry, a UK passport only needs to be valid in Greece for the duration of the holiday . Its fine, honestly.

dzug1

moonrakerz wrote: »

There are very few countries that actually require passports to be valid beyond the duration of an intended stay.

The main causes of this problem are travel agents, tour companies and cruise lines who impose the stupid six month rule, on everyone, to prevent any problems with the few people they are actually sending to some of the more outlandish places.

Though in this case to their credit the tour company has given good advice.

HXDave

dzug1 wrote: »

Though in this case to their credit the tour company has given good advice.

Dzug1, exactly.

We always ask clients when booking if they have 6 months validity on their passports, basically just to make sure they check that their passport is indeed in date (and yes, we have had people book holidays and not realise that their passports are out of date - can be very costly). It also helps us identify if a client actually has a passport, as opposed to expecting to get a new passport (first time application) just after trying to book a late holiday departing in 2 weeks time.

THen, once the client has checked with the passport, if they advise us that they do not have 6 months left, we can specifically check for that country and offer specific advise (if it's not one that we know off the top of our head!).

So basically, at the end od the day, it's only looking after the customers best interest.

Regards

HXDave

dzug1

Problem is HXDave that many travel agents would on hearing of the less than 6 months passport say 'you need a new one' without delving in to whether it's actually needed or not. And many tour companies (even highly reputable specialists) put 6 months in their T&C regardless of destination.

HXDave

dzug1, well thats down to individual travel agents, and how customer friendly they are. We have use of a very simple website that tells us all we need to know regarding passports & visa requirements, including advising if a return ticket is required. I can imagine that a lot of the 'multiple' agents are just happy to book the holiday then move onto the next booking. Thankfully, there are plenty of independant agents out there that work on more than just bums on seats.

Regards

HXDave