32 million Brits could be caught out by passport rule this year if travelling to EU

If your heading to a European holiday hotspot for a break in the sun at some point this year, you really ought to check what date your passport expires.

Otherwise, the bizarre '10-year rule' that we were lumped with in the wake of Brexit could completely derail your holiday plans - and you might not even be able to get through the airport.

What is this new Brexit passport rule?

When the UK controversially said goodbye to the European Union, a lot of wacky rules got brought in and the travel sector wasn't immune to this.

Before Brexit, Brits were able to carry up to nine months from an old passport over to a new one.

This means that some travellers have a passport which is valid for up to 10 years and nine months, that would only officially expire after this time period is up.

But this only applies to people who had their passport issued before September 2018, so if you received yours after this time then it means that it is only valid for exactly 10 years.

Not to trigger a Hunger Games-like battle at passport control, but yeah - some people have got a bit of a grace period with their official travel document, while others do not.

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Unfortunately for those people who have a passport with a lengthier life span though, EU countries will not accept one which has been issued more than ten years ago, although some other countries still will.

And seen as though 32 million people in the UK applied for passports before the new rules got brought in, there could be quite a lot of people in the customer service queue at the airports this summer.

What does this mean for those going on holiday this year?

Holidaymakers heading to EU countries - including the likes of Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland - need to have a passport that was issued less than 10 years before the date they are departing.

The only place which doesn't penalise us for being dangerously close to needing a passport renewal is Ireland.

On top of that, you've also got to make sure that your passport is valid for three months after the date you are scheduled to return. And this is all before you've even thought about starting to pack.

Which? Travel Editor Rory Boland told the BBC that the '10-year-rule is a problem that continues to catch people out.'

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He said: "What's really important is that you check your passport validity and expiry date when booking your holiday.

"Not when you go to check-in, and certainly not when you travel to the airport, because that's when people are continually finding that their passport is out of date and it's often then too expensive, and too complicated to save their holiday."

What to do if you think you may need to renew your passport

You can check if your holiday might go awry when you get to the airport by having a look at the expiry and issue dates on your passport.

If you are one of the unlucky ones who needs to bag a new one, you need to get in touch with HM Passport Office promptly to try and get hold of one before you head off.

But if you're not in a huge rush, you can renew your passport online or even pick up a paper application form to do so.

However, if you're keen to save some cash before your trip abroad, you should consider doing it sooner rather than later as the cost of passports are being hiked up from 11 April.

An adult passport applied for online will increase from £82.50 to £88.50. For children, it's going up from £53.50 to £57.50.