Passport rules for travel to Europe
Find out if you need to renew your passport before you travel to Europe and which countries the rules apply to.
If you or a family member are a UK national resident in an EU country or an EFTA country (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), the changes to passport rules may not apply. Read further guidance on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s ‘Living in’ guides.
Passport validity
We recommend that on the day you travel you have at least 6 months left on your passport. This allows for:
- travelling in Europe for up to 3 months (you don’t normally need a visa for the first 90 days in every 180 days of travel)
- the requirement from most European countries to have at least 3 months left on your passport on the day after you leave
Your passport must also be less than 10 years old on the day after you leave. If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the minimum period needed.
These rules do not apply to travel to Ireland. You can continue to use your passport as long as it’s valid for the length of your stay.
You need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport.
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Countries this applies to
These rules apply for travel to and between most countries in Europe. These are:
- Andorra
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Vatican City
Do not book travel unless your passport meets the entry requirements of the country you’re travelling to.
Travel to other EU countries
These rules do not apply when travelling to Ireland.
Applying for a new passport
If your passport doesn’t meet these rules, you need to apply for a new passport before travelling to the countries affected.
Make sure you apply in plenty of time. If you need to, you can apply to get a passport urgently.
Last updated 30 July 2021 + show all updates
Guidance
Passport rules for travel to Europe from 1 January 2021
Find out if you need to renew your passport before you travel to Europe from 1 January 2021 and which countries the new rules apply to.
New rules for January 2021
The UK has left the EU, and the transition period after Brexit comes to an end this year.
This page tells you what you’ll need to do from 1 January 2021. It will be updated if anything changes.
For current information, read:
You can also read about the transition period.
Until 1 January 2021, you can continue to travel to Europe with your UK passport until it expires.
New rules will apply for travel to Europe from 1 January 2021.
If your passport is burgundy or has ‘European Union’ on the cover, you can continue to use it until it expires.
You’ll need to have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland).
If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed.
You’ll need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport.
Sign up for email updates on GOV.UK.
Countries this applies to
The new rules will apply for travel to and between most countries in Europe. These are:
- Andorra
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Vatican City
Travel to other EU countries
The new rules will not apply when travelling to Ireland.
Applying for a new passport
If your passport doesn’t meet the new rules, you will need to apply for a new passport before travelling to the countries affected.
Do not book travel unless your passport meets the entry requirements of the country you’re travelling to.
Make sure you apply in plenty of time. If you need to, you can apply to get a passport urgently.
