At Remitly, we share your excitement for international travel and want to help make things easier for you. But with rules changing lately—especially if you’re travelling to the European Union—you might have some confusion or stress over the passport validity rules. Understanding the requirements can help you take your mind off your passport and focus on your trip.
In this article, we’ll clearly and simply explain the 10-year passport rule; what it is, who it affects, and how to check if your passport is compliant. Understanding this rule is straightforward and will help you travel with confidence.
What is the 10-year passport rule?
Whether you’re travelling solo or with the whole family, reviewing your travel documents is a key step in preparing for your trip. The rule applies to travel to countries in the Schengen Area—that’s most EU members but not Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, or Cyprus. The rule has two main requirements related to the dates of your travel:
- Upon entry to another country, your passport must be less than ten years old.
- Upon exit from that country, or wherever you’re returning home from if you’ve been moving around, your passport must have at least three months of validity remaining.
This means that both the issue date as well as the expiry date of your passport come into play. Think of it as your passport having two birthdays: the day it was issued, and the day it expires. For entry to many EU countries, the first birthday must be less than 10 years ago. Of course, the second birthday–the expiration date—cannot be celebrated in a foreign country!
You can find the issue date and the expiry date on the biographical page of your passport at the bottom of the page.
Purpose of the rule and effects of UK changes
The 10-year passport rule is in effect to ensure that travellers have sufficient passport validity for their stay and to align with standard international travel document requirements. In other words, the rule protects you by ensuring that you’ll be able to make it through passport control when you arrive at your destination, and on to the plane when you leave, without any issues.
Extra-months passport renewal
In recent years, there have been some changes that have affected how this rule affects British nationals. In the past, the UK would add up to nine months of unspent time from an old passport onto a new one during the passport renewal process.
This meant that some adult passports were valid for a little over ten years. Therefore, travellers would have to check their passport’s issuance date to ensure that their passport was less than ten years old when entering foreign countries.
Now, all UK passports are issued with exactly 10 years of validity. This has made compliance with the entry date portion of the 10-year passport rule much simpler. If you get a new passport now—or renew your old one—it’ll be compliant with the rules, by default.
Brexit
Another change that has affected the rule’s application to British nationals is Brexit. Many EU countries now strictly enforce the rule that non-EU passports, including UK passports, must not be older than 10 years upon entry and must have at least three months of validity upon exit.
Know your passport
If you have a UK passport that was issued in 2018 or before, check to see if you have extra months added to your passport validity; the extra-months practice for UK passports was phased out that year. Anyone with a more recently issued passport should have just ten years of validity.
How to check if your passport is compliant
It’ll only take a moment to check if your passport complies with the ten-year rule.
Check the issue date
Look at your passport’s “Date of issue.” On the day that you plan to enter the EU, this date has to be less than ten years ago. For example, if you plan to travel on 1 December 2025, your passport’s issue date must be after 1 December 2015.
Check the expiry date
Now, look at the passport’s “Date of expiry.” Your passport must have at least three months of validity remaining on the day you plan to leave the EU. For example, if you plan to return from your trip on 15 December 2025, your passport must not expire before 15 March 2026.
Because of these rules, it’s quite common for customs officials in EU countries to ask you the duration of your trip or your specific plans to exit the country—especially if your passport is getting quite near its expiry date.
What to do if your passport isn’t valid for travel
If you discover that your passport does not meet the requirements, don’t panic. The solution is to simply renew your passport. You should apply for a renewal as soon as possible, as standard processing times are given as three weeks, but may be longer. It will definitely take longer if you don’t live in the UK.
Because you’re required to have at least three months of validity on your passport on the date you plan to exit an EU country, it’s a best practice to renew your passport when it has around four or five months validity remaining. This will ensure that you have enough time to process a passport renewal before your passport dips into the danger zone of less than three months’ validity.
If you already have travel plans and need to renew your passport urgently, there are fast-track options for you to receive a new passport in one week or less. These options are quicker, but as you’d expect they do come at an additional cost.
Next stop: international travel
If you’re preparing to travel, especially to the EU, review your passport before your trip. Remember that your passport must be less than 10 years old on the date of your entry to the EU, and the day you leave it must have at least three months left before it expires.
Checking your passport is a simple but essential step to ensure a smooth and stress-free trip. Even if you don’t have any pending trips, checking your passport now can help you avoid last-minute problems and not have to rush around dealing with last-minute passport renewal. With your valid passport in hand, you can focus on the exciting parts of planning your journey.
FAQs:
How long does it take to renew a UK passport?
Standard passport renewal in the UK can take up to three weeks. If you have impending international travel, you can use one-week Fast Track or one-day Premium service to renew your passport urgently .
Can I renew a UK passport from an international location?
Yes, if you’re living or working overseas and you have to renew your passport, you can. British nationals can apply for a new passport online. However, your old passport and supporting documents have to be sent via postal mail to His Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK. As a result, the process can take some time.
Does the 10-year passport rule apply to children and infants?
Yes, the same rules for the passports on the dates of entry and exit to EU countries apply. It’s a bit different because UK passports for individuals under 15 years old are only issued for five years, but the conditions of the 10-year passport rule are still met by those passports, providing they have at least three months’ validity when you leave the other country to come home.