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UK travellers with a red passport may be blocked from entering 120 countries

 Friday, July 14, 2023

British holidaymakers have been warned to check their passports before travelling this summer, as documents that may appear valid could see them refused at their destination.

Dozens of countries require people to have at least six months left on their passport validity, reports a news agency.

This means that if you have less than six months left – while it is still not expired – you could still be refused entry upon arrival.

Many countries have similar rules, requiring anything from 45 days to three months remaining on a passport before entering the border.

There is a total of 70 countries who stick to this six month passport rule, with 41 countries requiring three months of validity – and others expect at least 45 days on your travel document.

The total amount of countries with validity rules on passports adds up to 120, all of which have different parameters on time and length of stay.

Even if your holiday destination isn’t on this list, the UK Government has urged people to check that they have at least 10 days left on their passport if you wish to travel.

For most European countries including Greece, Spain and France – HM Passport Office recommends that the passport expiry date is at least three months on from the intended day of departure for the EU.

That means that regardless of any rules in your destination country, your airline may refuse to take you – for example, the rule in North Cyprus is six months.