Martin Lewis has issued a warning to everyone in the UK with a British passport, who is planning to travel to Spain, which includes the Canary Islands, and other popular holiday destinations in the EU this summer. He has told them to check all of their travel documents, their passports, and European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC), as soon as possible and ensure that they are valid before making any plans to go on holiday.
Speaking on the Martin Lewis Money Show Live, Lewis said that “Brits need to make two key checks on their passports”. According to Lewis, all British holidaymakers planning to head to Spain, France, Greece, Italy, and other hotspots in the next few months need to check whether their passport is under ten years old on the date of entry to an EU country, as often they cannot travel on that document.
“The first thing you need to check is that your passport is under ten years old on the day you enter the country. People get caught out by that; that is a common condition. Some British passports are over ten years old, and they’re still valid, but you often can’t travel on that,” Lewis explained.
He further stressed that the validity of a passport needs to be checked for many countries, and at the same time, highlighted that since Brexit, EU countries require three months’ validity and under ten years old passports.
This means that everyone must make sure that their passport will be valid for at least another three months left from the day of entry. Nonetheless, some countries might require at least six months, and for this reason, it is important to check the rules of the country they are planning to go to.
“The Passport Office is saying to allow up to ten weeks for renewals, but I’m hearing delays can be longer, and the Fast Track slots are limited. And let me be plain; with an invalid passport, the travel insurance company will not allow you to claim if that’s the reason you can’t go on holiday,” Lewis stated.
He also warned Brits to check their EHIC (European Health Insurance Cards) as around 5.4 million EHIC cards will expire this year, urging everyone to check them as soon as possible.
An EHIC means that the holder can have the same state-provided health care in EU countries as the residents that live there so that all Brits that have one are eligible to free healthcare in the EU. Since Brexit, the EHIC is being replaced by a new GHIC, but it gives the same cover. The EHIC is still accepted until its expiry date and doesn’t need replacing beforehand.
