Passport expiry for EU travel

Belfast77

I'm planning a last minute trip to Spain from Northern Ireland.  My passport expires on 14th July 2023 so my 3 month cut off is 14th April 2023. I've been trying to clarify if I can leave Spain on a flight which departs on 14th April, exactly 3 months before my passport expires, even though the flight doesn't get into the UK until 15th April. Any advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated!

eskbanker

Belfast77 said:

I'm planning a last minute trip to Spain from Northern Ireland.  My passport expires on 14th Sept 2023 so my 3 month cut off is 14th April 2023. I've been trying to clarify if I can leave Spain on a flight which departs on 14th April, exactly 3 months before my passport expires, even though the flight doesn't get into the UK until 15th April. Any advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated!

Three months before 14 September is 14 June, not April!

Belfast77

eskbanker said:

Belfast77 said:

I'm planning a last minute trip to Spain from Northern Ireland.  My passport expires on 14th Sept 2023 so my 3 month cut off is 14th April 2023. I've been trying to clarify if I can leave Spain on a flight which departs on 14th April, exactly 3 months before my passport expires, even though the flight doesn't get into the UK until 15th April. Any advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated!

Three months before 14 September is 14 June, not April!

Apologies.  Typo there. It actually expires on 14th July 2023.

eskbanker

You're obviously right on the cusp, I'm not sure if there's any significance in the subtle distinction between the wording - https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy/required-documents_en states:

The passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date on which you intend to leave

but https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/entry-requirements says:

valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave

Either way round, the fact that the flight arrives in the UK on the following day shouldn't affect anything, it's the day you leave Spain that's measured.

Belfast77

eskbanker said:

You're obviously right on the cusp, I'm not sure if there's any significance in the subtle distinction between the wording - https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy/required-documents_en states:

The passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date on which you intend to leave

but https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain/entry-requirements says:

valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave

Either way round, the fact that the flight arrives in the UK on the following day shouldn't affect anything, it's the day you leave Spain that's measured.

Open to interpretation slightly with departure! 

tightauldgit

Belfast77 said:

I'm planning a last minute trip to Spain from Northern Ireland.  My passport expires on 14th July 2023 so my 3 month cut off is 14th April 2023. I've been trying to clarify if I can leave Spain on a flight which departs on 14th April, exactly 3 months before my passport expires, even though the flight doesn't get into the UK until 15th April. Any advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated!

Should be OK yes. It's the date you leave that matters not when you arrive. 

Now you might want to be careful though if your flight gets delayed or rescheduled you might run into issues. 

katejo

Belfast77 said:

I'm planning a last minute trip to Spain from Northern Ireland.  My passport expires on 14th July 2023 so my 3 month cut off is 14th April 2023. I've been trying to clarify if I can leave Spain on a flight which departs on 14th April, exactly 3 months before my passport expires, even though the flight doesn't get into the UK until 15th April. Any advice regarding this would be greatly appreciated!

Have you checked the issue date of your passport (did it include any months carried over from the previous passport)? Let's imagine it was issued on March 1st 2013 for example. It would mean that you couldn't fly to Spain after 1st March 2023