UK Passports after Brexit

[HEPZIBAH]

I've discovered today that the UK government have already issued information about British Passports and Brexit.
Hopefully the following will be of help and use to those who travel using a British Passport, particularly those of you who need to do visa runs.

Passport rules for travel to Europe after Brexit
Advice for British passport holders in the unlikely event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Published 13 September 2018
From:
HM Passport Office

Rules for passports
The rules for travel to most countries in Europe will change if the UK leaves the European Union (EU) with no deal.

After 29 March 2019:

You should have 6 months left on your passport from your date of arrival. This applies to adult and child passports.

If you renewed a 10 year adult passport before it expired, extra months may have been added to your passport’s expiry date. These extra months will not count.

The new rules will apply to passports issued by the UK, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

For more information, including:
Contents
Rules for passports
Check a passport for travel to Europe
List of countries affected
Applying for a new passport

Go to:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/passport-ru ... ter-brexit

[Major Thom]

Quite correct Hepzi, here in Cyprus there were Consulate meetings in different Cities and town during August and September, where we could attend and hear this information, but I would imagine Egypt's British Consular will be around 6 months late so you are right to put this snippet of information on. Because we are registered Cypriot People now and Cypriot Tax Payers it does not effect us too much and we can allow our Passports to continue until expired, we can then choose to renew our passports to English ones, European ones or to renew to Cypriot Passports. Goodness knows about none European Countries like Egypt, but I suppose ex pats will be able to register their desires for full Egyptian residency and then apply for an Egyptian Passport, and all the stress and messing about that follows their application and passport allowances and travel rights.

Incidentally, while writing this post the "Not Secure" site sign started to flash and tell me to switch to another site. My security provider dealt with it though and turned me over to their site to make my messages etc secure. Has this happened to anyone else?

[newcastle]

As Egypt is not in the EU, I doubt the British Embassy in Cairo is much interested in the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.

Apart from the invalidity of "extra months", the matter is totally irrelevant to UK expats in Egypt.....and then only if they intend travelling to an EU member state

I'd have thought that the issue was of more concern to Brits residing in Cyprus!. There is some confusion.

“The British High Commission is aware of some inconsistency in the messaging some British nationals have received from immigration offices in Cyprus with regard to their status post-Brexit,” the statement said.

“The British High Commission in Cyprus is keen to work closely with the Cypriot authorities to ensure early, effective and clear procedures are put in place for affected UK nationals in Cyprus, perhaps sharing experience of the scheme recently announced in the UK for EU nationals.”

The comment appears to be a veiled reference to the fact that the post-Brexit status issue works both ways and that more cooperation is needed from the authorities in Cyprus, considering the UK is reciprocating when it comes to the rights of the huge community of Greek Cypriots living in Britain.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2018/07/01/conf ... st-brexit/

we can allow our Passports to continue until expired, we can then choose to renew our passports to English ones, European ones or to renew to Cypriot Passports.

News to me that you can simply get a Cypriot passport or European Passport when your UK Passport expires. You're not Cypriot citizens!

[carrie]

Certainly makes no difference to me or other Europeans living in Egypt, we have always needed 6 months left on the passport before we can travel. As you say Newcastle I would be much more concerned if I were living in a EC country, things still seem far from clear and I doubt they will be until Britain leaves the EC and a final agreement is reached.
As an aside I had an email from the FCO saying security measures on flights from Egypt to the UK have once again been strengthened.

[HEPZIBAH]

If it makes no difference to UK expats/long term tourists living in Egypt then I am pleased for you. I posted it in good faith to give you all the heads up in case it made any difference to any one doing a visa run to Europe, especially during the end period of Brexit or start of the new 'indepedant' period.

Regarding having 6 months left on a passport when travelling - many, if not just about all countries require that you have at least 6 months left on you passport. I know there are some countries that only request 3 months, alternatively some require 9 months, but 6 months would seem to be more normal.

[newcastle]

If it makes no difference to UK expats/long term tourists living in Egypt then I am pleased for you. I posted it in good faith to give you all the heads up in case it made any difference to any one doing a visa run to Europe, especially during the end period of Brexit or start of the new 'indepedant' period.

Regarding having 6 months left on a passport when travelling - many, if not just about all countries require that you have at least 6 months left on you passport. I know there are some countries that only request 3 months, alternatively some require 9 months, but 6 months would seem to be more normal.

No criticism intended Hepzibah....I was trying to explain to MT why we're unlikely to hear anything from the British embassy in Egypt

And of course it's relevant to anyone (not just Egyptian expats on a visa run) who may be travelling to an EU state on a British passport.

[HEPZIBAH]

....I was trying to explain to MT why we're unlikely to hear anything from the British embassy in Egypt

No problem. I understood your post.

[carrie]

Same here Hepzibah, your posts are usually very informative and helpful.

[FarleyFlavors]

Regarding having 6 months left on a passport when travelling - many, if not just about all countries require that you have at least 6 months left on you passport. I know there are some countries that only request 3 months, alternatively some require 9 months, but 6 months would seem to be more normal.

This isn't the case. Egypt requires six months but many other countries simply require that your passport is valid for the length of your stay (for example USA, Canada, Australia, Chile, Philippines, Mexico, Tunisia).

[Yildez]

Turkey requires 3 months I believe.

[Who2]

My passports only a year or so old.
Shame, I have a lovely 'regulation blue leather CD passport holder, I used to love to wave it about furiously,
usually to no avail or upgrade, but the 'craic was good!.........

[HEPZIBAH]

Regarding having 6 months left on a passport when travelling - many, if not just about all countries require that you have at least 6 months left on you passport. I know there are some countries that only request 3 months, alternatively some require 9 months, but 6 months would seem to be more normal.

This isn't the case. Egypt requires six months but many other countries simply require that your passport is valid for the length of your stay (for example USA, Canada, Australia, Chile, Philippines, Mexico, Tunisia).

Without spending time going through the list you have given and checking each Consulate website I cannot verify what you have said. I do know that the 6 month rule for the Philippines was correct until relatively recently - possibly 2016 when it changed to 'length of stay'. As far as I'm aware, and I did check Tunisia not that long ago, Tunisia still requires 6 months on a valid passport.

What we learn from this is, no matter where you are travelling, don't just read any information - check it out at source which in this case would be the relevant Embassy/Consulates.

[FarleyFlavors]

Without spending time going through the list you have given and checking each Consulate website I cannot verify what you have said. I do know that the 6 month rule for the Philippines was correct until relatively recently - possibly 2016 when it changed to 'length of stay'. As far as I'm aware, and I did check Tunisia not that long ago, Tunisia still requires 6 months on a valid passport.

What we learn from this is, no matter where you are travelling, don't just read any information - check it out at source which in this case would be the relevant Embassy/Consulates.

At this point I should probably emphasise that I'm referring only to UK passports.

I'm inclined to the trust the government's foreign travel advice site - it's regularly updated and unlikely to be mistaken.

So for Tunisia..."For stays of up to 3 months 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."

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advic ... quirements