Expiring passport

[Amarillo]

We have booked the Eurotunnel outward 22 May return 2 June.

When filling in the advance passenger information I noted that one of my sons' passport expires on 28 May. Will this matter, or should I panic?

 

[AlanC]

Passports need to be valid for a minimum of 6 months if you are traveling abroad. I doubt your son will get past the border at the tunnel on the way out.

I would suggest you need to get it renewed ASAP. You can get one issued in one day, for a cost, but you will need to get to the London passport office in person to do so.

Alan.

 

[bigmac77]

All 28 countries in the European Union require that your passport is valid for the duration of your stay.

 

[Borris]

We have booked the Eurotunnel outward 22 May return 2 June.

When filling in the advance passenger information I noted that one of my sons' passport expires on 28 May. Will this matter, or should I panic?

Yes and yes.

 

[Amarillo]

Yes and yes.

OK - I've panicked!

Got an 11am appointment at the Peterborough Passport Office on Monday for a new passport within 7 days of that appointment.

Penalty for not checking earlier: £73 (£122 for a fast-track one week service less £49 for a standard 3 week service).

 

[soulstyledevon]

But is it a Blue one...???

 

[Amarillo]

But is it a Blue one...???

I don’t know yet, but if it is blue I bet it will have been made in France!

 

[kp64zl]

We have booked the Eurotunnel outward 22 May return 2 June.

When filling in the advance passenger information I noted that one of my sons' passport expires on 28 May. Will this matter, or should I panic?

An alternate view based on my subjective opinion/experience :

Depends if you & your children have British Passports or are nationals of other countries.

If you're not UK Citizens then you won't be allowed back in to the UK without a valid passport.

Assuming you *are* UK Citizens and your children have the same surnames as you, then I reckon you'd be able to get out of UK no problems. As we are part of the EU, then no-one's going to ask you at the border when you leave the UK / arrive in France as to when you plan to return to the UK.

Then on return (slightly late) as long as you have the passport - I would bet that a profuse apology would get you in with no probs. I know people who've got back into UK with photocopies of passports, driving licenses, alpine club cards etc. So no I wouldn't panic, but I probably would try and organise a trip to Peterborough if possible.

Completely different story following Brexit, or if you are not UK citizens, or if your children have different surnames to you. Or if you are travelling out of the EU/Shengen zone.

Remember, a couple of years ago there was some problem issuing passports and UK citizens were officially allowed to travel to Europe on expired passports (up to 6 months out of date)

of course, this is all my personal opinion and I would probably try to organise a trip to the passport office if I had time. But if I found out the day before & it was impossible to get a new passport I would definitely try because I can't see how UK Border authorities would deny entry to a bone fide UK citizen. Once having left France / eu then we would have no right of entry there..... so no where to go to except home

 

[Velma's Dad]

I agree with kp64zl. As a UK citizen you don’t need a passport to re enter the UK, you’re fully entitled to come in! But it just makes it easier at the border. For a child however the border staff will want some assurances as they will be very wary of child trafficking. But you will have your child’s (recently expired) passport so I don’t think you’d have any problems.

 

[larrylamb]

Off topic but does anyone else have issue with the unmanned passport control machines at airports? Drive me insane.

 

[Amarillo]

I agree with kp64zl. As a UK citizen you don’t need a passport to re enter the UK, you’re fully entitled to come in! But it just makes it easier at the border. For a child however the border staff will want some assurances as they will be very wary of child trafficking. But you will have your child’s (recently expired) passport so I don’t think you’d have any problems.

I will explain the reason for my panic and the hastily arranged trip to Peterborough. The reason is not what you might expect.

I had few concerns about re-entering the UK with a five year old travelling on a passport five days out of date. The French passport controllers at Calais, if they are not on a lunch break, coffee break, tea break or on strike, will barely acknowledge that we have passports.

The British border force will be somewhat more vigilant, scan all our passports, ask us to open the sliding windows in the rear so they can see the boys, and instantly notice that their computer has flagged up that Ben's passport has expired. In all probability they will politely point this out and issue a recommendation that we renew the passport soon. In a worst case scenario they will drag us off to some back office and give us a grilling before allowing us to re-enter the UK once they are convinced that we are not trafficking Ben.

My risk assessment of the matter considers all the above to be trivial.

However, the damage to my eardrums from Mrs Amarillo when she finds out that I allowed Ben to travel on an expired passport is a risk I am unable to mitigate by any legal means without an unscheduled visit to Peterborough on Monday.

On a happier note, the train journey to Peterborough from King's Cross is just 45 minutes and costs £14.50; the Cali would take 1h45 for the same journey and be a roughly similar cost in fuel. And this is the car park opposite the passport office:

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[kp64zl]

However, the damage to my eardrums from Mrs Amarillo when she finds out that I allowed Ben to travel on an expired passport is a risk I am unable to mitigate by any legal means without an unscheduled visit to Peterborough on Monday.

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YOU DIDN'T SAY THE MRS WAS COMING WITH YOU!!!

That changes everything

 

[B J G]

I will explain the reason for my panic and the hastily arranged trip to Peterborough. The reason is not what you might expect.

I had few concerns about re-entering the UK with a five year old travelling on a passport five days out of date. The French passport controllers at Calais, if they are not on a lunch break, coffee break, tea break or on strike, will barely acknowledge that we have passports.

The British border force will be somewhat more vigilant, scan all our passports, ask us to open the sliding windows in the rear so they can see the boys, and instantly notice that their computer has flagged up that Ben's passport has expired. In all probability they will politely point this out and issue a recommendation that we renew the passport soon. In a worst case scenario they will drag us off to some back office and give us a grilling before allowing us to re-enter the UK once they are convinced that we are not trafficking Ben.

My risk assessment of the matter considers all the above to be trivial.

However, the damage to my eardrums from Mrs Amarillo when she finds out that I allowed Ben to travel on an expired passport is a risk I am unable to mitigate by any legal means without an unscheduled visit to Peterborough on Monday.

On a happier note, the train journey to Peterborough from King's Cross is just 45 minutes and costs £14.50; the Cali would take 1h45 for the same journey and be a roughly similar cost in fuel. And this is the car park opposite the passport office:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

goo.gl

Don't know about Calais but at the Caen Ferry terminal all passports are now scanned, same as in the UK. Both on arrival and departure.

 

[MattBW]

At least you spotted it before you left.

 

[Loz]

But is it a Blue one...???

I believe it will look like this

 

[AlanC]

I will explain the reason for my panic and the hastily arranged trip to Peterborough. The reason is not what you might expect.

I had few concerns about re-entering the UK with a five year old travelling on a passport five days out of date. The French passport controllers at Calais, if they are not on a lunch break, coffee break, tea break or on strike, will barely acknowledge that we have passports.

The British border force will be somewhat more vigilant, scan all our passports, ask us to open the sliding windows in the rear so they can see the boys, and instantly notice that their computer has flagged up that Ben's passport has expired. In all probability they will politely point this out and issue a recommendation that we renew the passport soon. In a worst case scenario they will drag us off to some back office and give us a grilling before allowing us to re-enter the UK once they are convinced that we are not trafficking Ben.

My risk assessment of the matter considers all the above to be trivial.

However, the damage to my eardrums from Mrs Amarillo when she finds out that I allowed Ben to travel on an expired passport is a risk I am unable to mitigate by any legal means without an unscheduled visit to Peterborough on Monday.

On a happier note, the train journey to Peterborough from King's Cross is just 45 minutes and costs £14.50; the Cali would take 1h45 for the same journey and be a roughly similar cost in fuel. And this is the car park opposite the passport office:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

goo.gl

I am puzzled, if you live in Greenwich, isn't the HM Passport office at Pimlico just a tube ride away which you will effectively pass to get to King Cross station?

Alan

 

[Jason wallace]

A guess, but the fast services 1 week and 1 day are appointment based and London is likely to be very popular.

We had 3 days before a trip when my wife "Calmly" mentioned it her passport had expired. We luckily live 40 mins from Peterborough so appointment made and 2 days later and £177 less we had a shiny new passport for her.

I am puzzled, if you live in Greenwich, isn't the HM Passport office at Pimlico just a tube ride away which you will effectively pass to get to King Cross station?

Alan

 

[Amarillo]

A guess, but the fast services 1 week and 1 day are appointment based and London is likely to be very popular.

We had 3 days before a trip when my wife "Calmly" mentioned it her passport had expired. We luckily live 40 mins from Peterborough so appointment made and 2 days later and £177 less we had a shiny new passport for her.

Correct.

Belfast passport office had a Saturday 11th appointment, but there was no way I was going to fly to Belfast. London had an appointment on Friday 17th, but there would be no guarantee we’d get the passport in time. The Peterborough appointment is a 45 min train journey and we are guaranteed the passport with 2 days to spare on the 7 day service.

 

[GrannyJen]

I will explain the reason for my panic and the hastily arranged trip to Peterborough. The reason is not what you might expect.

I had few concerns about re-entering the UK with a five year old travelling on a passport five days out of date. The French passport controllers at Calais, if they are not on a lunch break, coffee break, tea break or on strike, will barely acknowledge that we have passports.

The British border force will be somewhat more vigilant, scan all our passports, ask us to open the sliding windows in the rear so they can see the boys, and instantly notice that their computer has flagged up that Ben's passport has expired. In all probability they will politely point this out and issue a recommendation that we renew the passport soon. In a worst case scenario they will drag us off to some back office and give us a grilling before allowing us to re-enter the UK once they are convinced that we are not trafficking Ben.

My risk assessment of the matter considers all the above to be trivial.

However, the damage to my eardrums from Mrs Amarillo when she finds out that I allowed Ben to travel on an expired passport is a risk I am unable to mitigate by any legal means without an unscheduled visit to Peterborough on Monday.

On a happier note, the train journey to Peterborough from King's Cross is just 45 minutes and costs £14.50; the Cali would take 1h45 for the same journey and be a roughly similar cost in fuel. And this is the car park opposite the passport office:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

goo.gl

Can you not take a couple of days out, book into Ferry Meadows, have the joy of cycling all around the pace then have the immensely nice 3 mile walk into Peterborough for your appointment?

 

[Amarillo]

Can you not take a couple of days out, book into Ferry Meadows, have the joy of cycling all around the pace then have the immensely nice 3 mile walk into Peterborough for your appointment?

I wish I could. Jess, Meg's puppy, who we adopted out to my cousin in the middle of our European tour lives not far away, and another cousin is a police inspector somewhere in Peterborough itself, so I could happily spend a week in the area. This, by necessity, is a whistle stop visit between dropping the boys off at school at 8.45 and collecting them at 4.30 after football club.

 

[Jason wallace]

That's a pity.....the site is split into 2 parts and the second section over road has a really good play area for the kids.

Can you not take a couple of days out, book into Ferry Meadows, have the joy of cycling all around the pace then have the immensely nice 3 mile walk into Peterborough for your appointment?

 

[GrannyJen]

I wish I could. Jess, Meg's puppy, who we adopted out to my cousin in the middle of our European tour lives not far away, and another cousin is a police inspector somewhere in Peterborough itself, so I could happily spend a week in the area. This, by necessity, is a whistle stop visit between dropping the boys off at school at 8.45 and collecting them at 4.30 after football club.

shame.

I would have been in Ferry Meadows tonight had I not broke my wrist last night

 

[Amarillo]

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.

 

[WelshGas]

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.

Why do you persist in making disparaging remarks about Government Departments and the UK Government in what was an interesting narrative about your trip to Peterborough Passport Office because of your failure to note the expiry date of your sons Passport

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.

You're appointment was for 11am so you arrive 40 minutes early. I presume the Passport Office had a waiting Time Standard - Waiting time limited to 10 mins after appointment time -. So who is at fault for arriving early?

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.

Passport Control at the point of Exit not only checks your Passport is valid but also that it is acceptable to the receiving country. France requires a Passport has a minimum 6 months as do virtually every other country. Under the present chaos we could leave the EU anytime within the next 5 months. You could maintain you would only be away for 2 weeks but people lie. By upholding the French requirements the Passport Control Officer is ensuring you would get entry to France, and the Schengen Area, and that they or Euroshuttle/Ferry Company would not have to bear the cost of returning you to the UK if refused entry.
All the UK is interested in is who is leaving and I doubt if they care one iota if you have 1 day or 10 years on your passport but they also know the receiving country has a requirement of 6 month validity and if less you would be stopped and returned.

More of the interesting Narrative and less of the constant moans about officialdom when basically it is all down to your own failures.

 

[Amarillo]

Why do you persist in making disparaging remarks about Government Departments and the UK Government in what was an interesting narrative about your trip to Peterborough Passport Office because of your failure to note the expiry date of your sons Passport

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.

You're appointment was for 11am so you arrive 40 minutes early. I presume the Passport Office had a waiting Time Standard - Waiting time limited to 10 mins after appointment time -. So who is at fault for arriving early?

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.

Passport Control at the point of Exit not only checks your Passport is valid but also that it is acceptable to the receiving country. France requires a Passport has a minimum 6 months as do virtually every other country. Under the present chaos we could leave the EU anytime within the next 5 months. You could maintain you would only be away for 2 weeks but people lie. By upholding the French requirements the Passport Control Officer is ensuring you would get entry to France, and the Schengen Area, and that they or Euroshuttle/Ferry Company would not have to bear the cost of returning you to the UK if refused entry.
All the UK is interested in is who is leaving and I doubt if they care one iota if you have 1 day or 10 years on your passport but they also know the receiving country has a requirement of 6 month validity and if less you would be stopped and returned.

More of the interesting Narrative and less of the constant moans about officialdom when basically it is all down to your own failures.

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

FCDO travel advice for France. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.

www.gov.uk