Overview
- Post-Brexit regulations require passports to be issued within the last ten years and hold at least three months’ validity beyond EU departure or six months for other destinations.
- FOI data show over one million UK passports expire by the end of 2025, leaving many travellers at risk of invalid documents during peak summer travel.
- Surveys find one in ten UK adults have missed holidays by failing to renew passports, and airports have issued widespread boarding warnings.
- Travel insurance typically excludes costs for emergency passport services and missed flights, exposing travellers to hefty unrecoverable losses.
- Standard online, fast-track and one-day premium services offer passport renewal options with varying fees and lead times, and Emergency Travel Documents permit a single or return journey through up to five countries for those abroad with invalid passports.