10 years rule for passport

Martyn_H

There ought to be a website where you can enter the dates on your passport and the country you are travelling to, to check validity.

Pollycat

Martyn_H said:

There ought to be a website where you can enter the dates on your passport and the country you are travelling to, to check validity.

Actually - there already is...
IATA - Travel Centre – Passport, Visa & Health requirements

Your bags are packed, you're ready to go but do you have everything you need to board the airplane? The IATA Travel Centre delivers accurate passport, visa and health requirement information at a glance.

Martyn_H

I can't get beyond this stage:

An error has occurred. Please fill in the required fields

Please enter arrival date.

Please enter duration of stay.

eskbanker

Martyn_H said:

There ought to be a website where you can enter the dates on your passport and the country you are travelling to, to check validity.

As above, there is, but it's generally best not to rely on third party sites (not that I'm casting aspersions about IATA in any way), so it would usually be recommended to visit the Foreign Office travel pages for the relevant country at gov.uk, which will clearly document the rules and also provide links to that country's official websites for policies on immigration, customs, etc.

SW17

eskbanker said:

Martyn_H said:

There ought to be a website where you can enter the dates on your passport and the country you are travelling to, to check validity.

As above, there is, but it's generally best not to rely on third party sites (not that I'm casting aspersions about IATA in any way), so it would usually be recommended to visit the Foreign Office travel pages for the relevant country at gov.uk, which will clearly document the rules and also provide links to that country's official websites for policies on immigration, customs, etc.

It is the IATA Timatic system which is used by all pretty much all airlines to check eligibility to fly, and the IATA Travel Centre is just a web interface to Timatic. So, in practical terms it will be more relevant to what will happen at the airport than what may or may not be on the FCDO site. Timatic itself of course is not infallible in terms of being up to date when rules are changing.

A lot of the confusion on this issue a couple of years back was actually caused by the UK Govt publishing incorrect information on its websites about the required passport validity, which was followed by several airlines, resulting in a number of people being incorrectly denied boarding. For a long time the UK govt refused to back down and remove the incorrect information, despite the EU confirming the correct info. I couldn't see any reason for this, other than political inability to accept it was wrong.

It cost those airlines a lot of money to compensate passengers, because naturally the government accepts no liability for its errors, but the airlines were legally liable for incorrect IDB. It would have been a lot worse, but the period of the inaccurate information had considerable overlap with the pandemic travel restrictions, so fewer people were travelling.

eskbanker

Point taken about where airlines will look, but that's still not the official source of information for immigration officials when actually entering other countries.

I do recall that there was an old page on the gov.uk site, pre-dating the final Brexit negotiations, which remained visible for far too long despite being superseded, but don't remember any sustained period of wrong advice being given via the standard navigation routes through that site, when did that start and finish?

SW17

eskbanker said:

Point taken about where airlines will look, but that's still not the official source of information for immigration officials when actually entering other countries.

I do recall that there was an old page on the gov.uk site, pre-dating the final Brexit negotiations, which remained visible for far too long despite being superseded, but don't remember any sustained period of wrong advice being given via the standard navigation routes through that site, when did that start and finish?

There was still misleading advice on UK govt sites up to May 2022 (it even went on after that in relation to child passports), more than two years after the end of the Brexit transition period. This story in The Independent covers it (you might have to register to read it, but it's free).

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/foreign-office-passport-validity-europe-travel-b2077606.html?r=17

I'm not always the biggest fan of Simon Calder, but he was right and persistent on this one. Eventually the UK Govt corrected its advice, although unsurprisingly it still tried to claim that the EC hadn't been clear, rather than admit its own failings. 

rockchick113

Sorry for being completely confused on this. My passport was issued 20 Feb 17 expires 20 Aug 27 can I travel to the EU ? 

eskbanker

rockchick113 said:

Sorry for being completely confused on this. My passport was issued 20 Feb 17 expires 20 Aug 27 can I travel to the EU ? 

Yes, until 20 February 2027, as long as you leave by 20 May 2027.