6 months left on Passport [UK/Europe]

[ellen10]

My son will be travelling to the UK and Spain in May.
When he departs Australia he will have just over 6 months left on his passport.
He will first land in London and then on to Spain.
From Spain he will travel to Glasgow and then on to Belfast before departing from London for Australia.
He will be away for 4 weeks. When he flys from Spain to Glasgow he will be just under 6 months left on his passport.

Will this be a problem or should he renew before he departs Australia?

 

[docjames]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

Yes, he should renew before he leaves Australia.

 

[Natalie_B]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

Most definitely renew it before he goes.

 

[OzEire]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

To quote myself !

There are two issues to consider.

First one is that the airline must be satisfied that you will be able to enter your destination country lawfully, that is, you have a valid passport with a valid visa if this is required - if you meet these basic criteria then the airline should allow you to board. If you don't meet those requirements they can, at their discretion, refuse to board you or enquire with the destination country to check your eligibility (or in some cases, just ignore the requirements and board you). The consequences for the airline are that if you are refused entry by the destination country, they must bear the costs for your return trip.

The second issue is at the border on arrival. You could present your passport and show evidence of a return ticket, then most likely you will be permitted entry as your passport will be valid for the duration of travel. However, there is a very small chance that the Customs officer will give you some grief over the "less than 6 months" issue, even though it is not really a problem in this case.

Simplest solution, renew it before you go. The passport lasts 10 years for about 250 bucks or $25 per year (and I think a child's one is half that), which is less than your drivers' licence.

The "6 month rule" is just a shortcut rule of thumb used in the travel industry by travel agents and airlines to make the processes easier... their logic is that if you have plenty of validity on the passport then it won't expire during the trip and everyone is happy. If its close to expiry then the Customs officer needs to calculate how much validity is left before giving a entry visa (some countries give 3 or 6 months automatically to citizens of 'friendly' countries). Most of the time they couldn't be bothered dealing with special cases where the passport might expire before the visa, they have a visa stamp that says 6 months and they want to use it ! In essence they are seeking to avoid a complex situation where you are in their country with an expired passport and that might be a hassle for them, its easier to just say that everyone needs at least 'X' validity left on their passport on arrival.

Hope this helps.

 

[Buzzard]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

Definitely renew before leaving Oz

 

[ellen10]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

Many thanks for the replies.
How long does it take to renew a passport?

 

[samh004]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

Many thanks for the replies.
How long does it take to renew a passport?

They mail it within 10 working days, but you can also get a speedy one in an emergency.

https://www.passports.gov.au/Web/FAQ.aspx#faq4

 

[ellen10]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

Thanks Sam
He leaves mid May, will get on to it.

 

[ellen10]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

My son has a working visa for the UK which has 2 years left on it.
As he will need a new passport, how does he get this visa transferred?

 

[Simo]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

My son will be travelling to the UK and Spain in May.
When he departs Australia he will have just over 6 months left on his passport.
He will first land in London and then on to Spain.
From Spain he will travel to Glasgow and then on to Belfast before departing from London for Australia.
He will be away for 4 weeks. When he flys from Spain to Glasgow he will be just under 6 months left on his passport.

Will this be a problem or should he renew before he departs Australia?

I would renew the passport.

When I was leaving to go OS I was asked when I was returning and had to show return ticket as my passport only had 7 months remaining.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

My son has a working visa for the UK which has 2 years left on it.
As he will need a new passport, how does he get this visa transferred?

you should seek specific advice from the high commission. there will need to be some annotation in the new passport to allow him to enter without restriction (otherwise he'll get a 'permitted to enter no work allowed').

In the good old days we used to sight an old permit/visa and just mark in the new passport with a special stamp. But i don't know the current procedures.

 

[AIRwin]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

My son has a working visa for the UK which has 2 years left on it.
As he will need a new passport, how does he get this visa transferred?

I had a visa on an expired passport and simply presented both passports (old and new) to immigration when I recently travelled. But as MEL_Traveller pointed out best to check with the High Commission.

 

[Barks]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

I'd just avoid any potential hassle and renew the passport before departure.

 

[ellen10]

Re: 6 months left on Passport

Thank you for all of your advice.
We will renew the passport and investigate the visa.
We had thought to present both passports, but wondered.
He will not be working this time. The trip is only for 4 weeks holidaying.