Brits going on Spain holidays face confusing new passport rules

Spain passport rules for Brits explained as new requirements after Brexit have left some holidaymakers confused as to whether their documents are valid for travel

Brits heading on summer holidays are already being urged to check their passports are still valid, but if you’re planning a trip to Europe, then you’ll need to pay closer attention to the dates on your passport.

A number of holidaymakers have been caught out by post Brexit rules, which now mean both your passport’s issue and expiry dates will come into play at border control.

The confusing rules have led to the Foreign Office updating its advice for 33 countries – and that includes Spain, a popular holiday hotspot for UK travellers.

Under the new passport requirements, your passport needs to be no more than 10 years old from the point of issue; but it also needs to be valid at least three months after your date of travel.

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The updated Foreign Office advice for Spain now addresses passport rules specifically and explains: “If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must follow the Schengen area passport requirements.

“Your passport must be:

• issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the ‘date of issue’)
• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

“You must check your passport meets these requirements before you travel. If your passport was issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.

“Contact the embassy of the country you are visiting if you think that your passport does not meet both these requirements. Renew your passport if you need to.”

Your passport’s validity won’t be the only documents you need to enter Spain for holidays.

The country is keeping its Covid entry rules in place until at least mid June. This means that you’ll need to be fully vaccinated or have proof of recovery from Covid in the last six months if you want to visit Spain, the Balearics or Canaries for tourism.

If you’re unvaccinated, you won’t be able to enter for holidays.

However, there is an exception; unvaccinated children aged 12-17 will be allowed to visit for holidays provided they have a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before travel, or proof of Covid recovery.

Travel requirements and entry rules are correct at the time of writing but are subject to changing quickly due to the nature of the pandemic. Always check the Foreign Office’s latest Spain travel advice before booking or going on a holiday – this also covers holidays to the Canaries and the Balearics.

What do you think about the passport rules – do you find them confusing? Let us know in the comments below.