10 year Passport rule for the EU - FCO Updates advice so it is now much clearer

MATTR5

Hi Everyone 

As there have been quite a few threads about this I thought id let you know that the FCO have updated their advice today for travel to EU/Schengen Countries so there is now no doubt on the rules

They now state this unequivocally and clearly and have removed some text that made it unclear 
It's not really a change to the advice but they've removed some text that made it a bit ambiguous - see below 

nb If you are travelling to a country outside the EU then any extension on your Passport is valid but you may need eg 6 mths validity so check the rules for the Country you are visiting - it's only the EU that wont let you enter more than 10 years after your Passport issue date
Also, children's 5-year passports are (as before) unaffected as its a 10 year rule 

(Im only putting this here for info on what has changed -  The text they have removed said "We are asking the European Commission to clarify the 10-year rule. Their guidance for Schengen border guards may not be updated until the spring of 2022. Until then, for some Schengen countries your passport may need to be less than 10 years old during your whole visit, and the 3 months at the end of your visit may need to be within 10 years of your passport’s issue date") 

New simplified statement

Passport validity

If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must follow the Schengen area passport requirements.

Your passport must be:

• issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the ‘date of issue’)
• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

You must check your passport meets these requirements before you travel. If your passport was issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.

Contact the embassy of the country you are visiting if you think that your passport does not meet both these requirements. Renew your passport if you need to.