A WOMAN has revealed how she was forced to miss four days of her holiday because of a simple, yet common, passport mistake.
Even if your passport is yet to expire, it could still prevent you from entering a country because of certain validity rules.
That’s exactly what happened to Tiktoker Fran Hainingg who was due to head to Greece for a summer break.
Because she hadn’t checked the rules, she instead found herself having to go to London to get a new passport instead of heading to the beach, after she was unable to board her flight at the airport.
The problem she encountered was to do with the 10-year passport rule, which prevents Brits from entering EU countries, if their passports are more than 10 years old on the day they’re travelling.
Passports must also have more than three months remaining on them on the day they’re due to return to the UK.
However, Fran’s passport was two days beyond the 10 year threshold, meaning she had to abandon her holiday in search of a new passport.
For this, she needed to make an appointment at the London passport office, which set her back a further two days and meant she missed the first four days of her trip, and spent an extra £300.
In a video, she said: “I got declined to get on the flight because my passport was two days out of date from being 10 years old.
“We initially got turned away because we didn’t have an appointment, so two days later we were heading back into London.
“Instead of waking up in sunny Greece, I was commuting with all the other 9-5 girlies.”
Eventually, though Fran was able to sort out new, valid documents and able to book herself onto a new flight.
She added: “Anyway, £200 on a new passport and £100 on new flights, four days into the holiday and we got to Greece.”
Anyone with a holiday coming up should check their passports now and, if their passports aren’t valid, apply for a new one as soon as possible.
As many as 10,000 people get caught out by the problem each year, so it’s worth having a look at your passport just to make sure.
In fact, Brits have been urged to check their passports now, even if they’re not due to travel until the end of the summer.
The Sun’s Travel Editor Lisa Minot has explained exactly what Brits need to know.
She said: “In order to travel to the EU, all passports must be no more than 10 years old on the day you arrive in your European destination.
“And you’ll need at least three months on your passport on the day you head back to the UK.
“Figures have shown up to 100,000 holidaymakers a year face being turned away at airports if their passport is more than 10 years old.
“The 10-year rule only applies to countries in the European Union but every country may have different rules on what is accepted.
“Some countries like South Africa, for example, insist you have at least six months left on your passport when you travel and a full clear page.”
Official government guidance is three weeks for a standard passport renewal, but this could take longer if applying for the first time.
It could also take even longer during peak travel periods, when more people are getting passports renewed.
Therefore it’s better to get it done as soon as possible, to avoid missing out on highly-anticipated holidays this summer.
That’s why the Post Office has launched a campaign urging people to check their passports sooner rather than later, so they can avoid holiday disappointment.
The initiative provides holidaymakers with a timely reminder, marking six weeks before the onset of peak summer international travel.
This provides travellers with enough time to renew their documents, or factor in additional checks that may be required if applying for a first-time passport before travelling.
Meanwhile, this is how to avoid paying unnecessary passport fees.
And this disastrous passport mistake could cause people very costly problems.
