Tourists are being warned against a major passport mistake which could completely ruin your holiday, after a number of Brits have had their passports invalidated.
If you've ever spotted the novelty passport stamps you can collect at various different traveller locations as a form of souvenir, the message is simple. Do not put them in your passports.
While the stamps can provide a lovely little keepsake for your travels, the best thing to do is put them in a journal, or anything that isn't a legal document, for that matter.
The issue with putting them in your passport is the fact that official immigration officers don't issue them, so some passport control offices view it as your passport having been tampered with, making them a potential threat.
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Jamie Fraser, travel expert and American summer camp director at Wild Packs, explains: “Souvenir stamps have become a bit of a badge of honour for travellers — they look cool, they feel like part of the adventure.
"But the second you let someone stamp your passport who isn’t a border official, you’re not adding a memory — you’re risking the whole document being declared invalid.”
There are several cases where foreign airports have considered passports to be invalid, like when Tina Sibley attempted to board a Quatar Airways flight in Thailand using a British passport that featured a novelty stamp.
Taking to Facebook to share the ordeal, she wrote: “I presented myself and my passport at Qatar airways last night to be told I couldn't fly because of the Machu Picchu stamp."
However, she went on to say she was unable to access a replacement document as when she contacted the British Embassy in Thailand, she was told the passport was still valid.
When she went back to the airport, neither Qatar Airways or Emirates would accept the passport.
The UK government has confirmed its stance on unofficial stamps, stating: "For UK nationals travelling to the UK, they need to present a valid UK passport.
"There is no requirement for carriers to check other stamps in the passport, including novelty stamps, if they are satisfied that the passenger is a genuine UK national."
However, Brits could still be impacted depending on where they plan to travel to and from.
According to the UK government, a passport will be considered damaged if it has torn or missing pages, faded or unreadable information, ink stains or water damage and loose or separated covers.
Fraser went on to say: "If your passport includes anything not placed there by an official, you’re at the mercy of each border’s interpretation.
"For something that takes up just one square inch, it can cause a world of trouble."
Emma Rosemurgey