Brexit & Your UK Passport

Should the United Kingdom leave the European Union on March 29th with no deal, the rules for travel to our destinations is expected to change. With this in mind, the government has started accelerating its plans for a no deal EU exit and wants to ensure you are also prepared for any changes that come from a no deal Brexit.

UK passport holders are advised to check their passports to see whether it is valid for travel after March 29th 2019. If you do not yet have a UK passport, more info will follow in the coming weeks.

After March 29th 2019, you should ensure that you have a minimum of 6 months validity left on your UK passport from your date of arrival. This applies to both adult and child passports.

If you renewed your passport before it expired, extra months may have been added to your new passport’s expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months that should be remaining for travel to most countries in Europe. The new rules will apply to passports issued by the UK, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey. Further information related to other nationality passports is not yet available. Please check your country specific travel document requirements.

At the moment, UK passport holders can travel to all EU countries as long as they have enough remaining validity to cover the length of their stay, so it’s important to be aware of the above changes in the event of a no deal Brexit.

Balkan Holidays would like to advise all clients due to travel with us after March 29th 2019 to please check your passport and if you are affected, you should consider renewing your passport as soon as possible to avoid any potential issues when you travel.

You can check your passport using the official government service here.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed there should be no disruption to flights after March 30, even if Britain crashes out of the European Union without a deal.

Grayling said that a Sunday Times article on December 16, which said the government was considering warning people not to book holidays after March 30 in case of a no deal Brexit, was 'categorically untrue'.

He added: "Both the UK and the EU have made clear their desire to ensure flights between the UK and the EU continue in any scenario."