Expiring passport

[WelshGas]

What a nice response.

My observations and commentary were just that: observations and commentary.

The waiting room thing was bizarre. 2 or 3 people sitting in ~150 seats, and a queue of ~20 waiting to go in. There are just 7 regional passport offices in the UK, some will have to travel considerable distances to access their local office. For me slouching against a wall is fine, but what about those with less stamina to wait standing while a plethora of empty seats beckon just the other side of a security cordon?

The fact of the matter is that I do not believe that six months are required on a passport for countries where no visa is required.

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Your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay; you don’t need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this.
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Note “should” not “must”.

Entry requirements - France travel advice

Latest FCDO travel advice for France including on entry requirements, safety and security and local laws and customs.

www.gov.uk

If that is your belief then put it into practice. What you have quoted is the U.K. Governments interpretation not the French/EUs interpretation.

 

[Amarillo]

If that is your belief then put it into practice. What you have quoted is the U.K. Governments interpretation not the French/EUs interpretation.

I would happily have done so, but as previously explained, the risk of a spousal ear bashing was to great.

 

[Perfectos]

I would happily have done so, but as previously explained, the risk of a spousal ear bashing was to great.

Spousal ear bashing, worse than the Spanish Inquisition!

They have way of making you talk !

Painful ways !

Nobody expects !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Barbara]

The trip to Peterborough using bike and public transport was a dream.

I cycled to Lee railway station, folded my Brompton and caught the 8.30 service to London Bridge. After Network Rail spent five years untangling the lines south of London Bridge, the journey now takes just 10 minutes.

I duly arrived at London Bridge at 8.40, changed to the Thameslink platform and just missed the connection. No matter, they are now running 24 trains per hour each way through the central Thameslink section, and no sooner had the missed train departed than another screeched into the platform.

The rebuilt Blackfriars station is phenomenal: two stations in one, the platforms span the Thames, an exit to either bank. Farringdon hasn’t changed much, and will soon be a major interchange with the delayed Crossrail platforms deep below the charmingly dilapidated open Thameslink ones complete with buddleia blossoming from the walls.

So 9am at King’s Cross for my 9.30 train. I’d rather be 30 minutes early than 1 minute late. This was the Edinburgh train first stop Peterborough. They now run trains direct from London Bridge to Peterborough, but these are crawlers, taking an hour longer than the express - they cost significantly more too: over twice the price. So instead of the single change at London Bridge, I was changing trains twice, once at LB and once at St Pancras for King’s Cross.

I arrived in Peterborough at 10.15 for my 11am appointment and a sign helpfully directed me to the passport office, 15 minutes it said. I unfolded my Brompton an was there in 3 minutes.

Entry to the sparsely populated waiting room was barred until 10 minutes before appointment time. I’m assuming this is to keep “waiting” times down so that Mark Thompson can achieve his performance management target as Director General of Her Majesty’s Passport Office.

I waited 20 minutes and was allowed in 20 minutes early, seen within 10 minutes and all was soon complete. I had just one question. What would happen if we’d travelled on a soon to expire passport. “You’d never have been allowed out of the country with less than six months on the passport.” I protested that we were only going to France. “Brexit” was the reply. Incredulous, I left it at that.

My return reservation was for 12.30. My ticket was not valid for any other train. I snuck onto the 11.10 and sat in the unreserved buffet car, prepared to pay the excess fare if required. No one checked, and I was home before 1pm.

Now the seven anxious day wait for Ben’s Brexit blue British passport to arrive in the post.

Looks like your Brompton was very useful. Very impressive timing.

 

[Amarillo]

the risk of a spousal ear bashing was to great.

Spousal ear bashing, worse than the Spanish Inquisition!

Having visited the torture chamber in Count Vad's Bran Castle, and the special exhibition on Oriental torture techniques, I can testify that even the most deviant techniques are like being tickled with a feather compared to a spousal ear bashing.

 

[Velma's Dad]

The fact of the matter is that I do not believe that six months are required on a passport for countries where no visa is required.

The 6 month rule is not universal (Canada doesn't require it, for example) although it is very widely applied around the world, whether or not a visa is also required. In fact, some countries including Schengen actually state that they require 6 months to spare PLUS the expected length of your stay. Whether they always enforce that is another matter.

In practice though (well, apart from Cali travel - unless you're air-shipping it!) the person you're likely to have to convince isn't an outbound immigration officer, it's the airline check-in staff, and they will tend to err against you because the airlines get fined several thousand dollars a throw by many destination countries if they carry someone not entitled to enter.

An organisation with which I'm affiliated and travel for regularly at short notice requires all team members' passports to be renewed before the 7 month point, for that reason.

 

[jts46]

I had just one question. What would happen if we’d travelled on a soon to expire passport. “You’d never have been allowed out of the country with less than six months on the passport.” I protested that we were only going to France. “Brexit” was the reply. Incredulous, I left it at that.

Nothing to do with brexit they are the rules, my daughter in law was refused travel as she only had 5 months left on her passport in 2015, to our house in France.
I thought the 6 month ruled was applicable but ??????????????

 

[Velma's Dad]

P.S. to my one above: I just checked and, interestingly, the passport validity for entry to individual EU countries varies, it isn't standard for Schengen. It also depends on the nationality of the traveller. For example, an Austrian passport holder can enter the Netherlands with a passport up to 5 years out of date, while an Irish person's passport to enter NL must be valid at date of entry.

 

[Beeechke1]

My experience differs from some of what has been said here. During 2018 my passport (UK) was due to expire in the June I flew (Easyjet) weekly for work to Switzerland during the first 3 months and then to Slovakia until the week before my passport expired. I was only ever challenged once by Easyjet check in staff who backed down immediately when I pointed them to the current advise was a passport only needed to be valid fro duration of the trip. This was of course all pre Brexit anxiety kicking in

Kelvin

 

[Amarillo]

I've had a text from HMPO's delivery agent saying that the passport is due for delivery today.

If that is the case, a very good service from HMPO, and I could have booked an appointment in London this Friday and received the passport on Monday or Tuesday next week, in time for our departure. Still, I'd rather have the passport seven days early than risk it being a minute too late.

 

[Amarillo]

Purple not blue.

Mention of the European Union deleted from the blurb on page 3.