It’s close to five years since Britain left the EU but many UK travellers are still being tripped up by the passport validity rules that came into force since Brexit.

Last summer, hundreds of travellers were caught out when immigration officials told them they didn’t have enough months left on their passport. Long-awaited holidays were ruined when they were told they weren’t allowed on the plane or train.

Now, confusion over the rules is still seeing passengers denied boarding – sometimes wrongly.

Yesterday, UK newspaper The Independent reported that a British citizen heading to Spain to celebrate his retirement was turned away by British Airways when trying to check in for his flight at Gatwick Airport.

Staff said that his passport was no longer valid for the EU as there was less than three months left until the 10th anniversary of its issue date.

As his passport was valid beyond the 10 year mark, BA has since acknowledged that this was an error and the passenger will be entitled to compensation for missing his trip.

To make sure you don’t get caught out here’s everything you need to know about the new rules – and whether or not you can still use your current passport.

What are the passport rules for Brits travelling to Europe?

You might assume that your passport is valid up to the expiry date. But this isn’t always the case.

Before Brexit, Brits could travel up to and including the expiry date on their passports. But EU regulations now classify UK citizens as ‘third country nationals,’ meaning the rules have changed.

If a UK passport holder wants to visit the EU, they will need a passport:

• which is not older than 10 years on the day of outbound travel to the EU.
• is valid for at least three months after the date you plan to leave the EU country you are visiting – read on for UK government advice on this.

These requirements apply to the whole Schengen area, which includes most EU countries plus Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland.

Though British citizens can enter the Schengen area with three months of validity on their passports plus the length of their trip, the UK government recommends that they have six months validity.

This allows a passport holder to travel for 90 days (the maximum number of visa free days a UK citizen can visit Europe in a six month period) and still exit with a valid passport.

What are the passport requirements for Brits travelling outside the EU?

Outside of the EU, passport requirements can be even stricter.

Some countries – including many in Asia and Africa – require UK citizens to have six months of validity on their passports from the date of departure. China, Singapore, and Egypt fall into this category.

In other countries, the rules are far more relaxed. In Japan, Mexico, and Australia, for example, your passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your stay.

Check the specific requirements on the UK Foreign Office website.

What are the rules on passport validity for other nationalities entering the UK?

When coming into the UK, on any passport or ID card, the rules are less strict. The UK government website states that your passport or ID card must simply be valid ‘for the whole of your stay’.

You can check which documents will allow you to enter the UK based on your nationality here.

How long does it take to get a new passport?

If your passport is edging close to the expiry date, you may want to get an application for a new one in quick.

The UK Home office says you should allow 10 weeks to get a new passport, though the waiting time is currently around three weeks on average.

In busy periods, however, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to wait much longer.

In summer 2022, which was plagued by delays following COVID, frustrated applicants took to social media to share horror stories of lengthy queues and months-long delays.

“After a long wait [and a] failed attempt to renew UK passport from Aus, son applied from UK, been waiting 14 weeks, missed his trip,” user Julie Wilson posted.

“Please prioritise this! Was told by your staff to stop telephoning as this will only delay the issue!”

Over the past year, the situation seems to have improved. Between October 2023 and May 2024, 98.5 per cent of customers either received their passport or were contacted for further information within three weeks of applying, the Home Office reported.

For non-EU nationals living in Italy or thinking of moving to the country, there’s good news about getting citizenship.

Campaigners have been pushing for a change in the law to make it easier for foreigners to gain citizenship by residency.

Currently, non-EU nationals need to live in Italy for at least 10 years before they are eligible for citizenship by residency.

Opposition politicians and non-profit organisations like Oxfam Italia have been fighting to reduce this to five years.

On Tuesday, they announced they had gathered enough signatures to qualify for a national referendum.

Changes to citizenship laws would affect 2.5 million foreigners

“We did it! In very few days 500,000 citizens signed for the #CitizenshipReferendum,” opposition lawmaker Riccardo Magi posted on social media.

This means a national referendum to reduce the required residency time from 10 years to five can now be requested.

Halving the time non-EU nationals have to live in Italy before being eligible for citizenship would bring Italy in line with other European countries including Germany, France, Portugal, the Netherlands and the UK.

Since 1999, several challenges to the law have been made but none have been successful.

Magi said that campaigners and those who signed the petition are pushing for “something simple, almost banal: those who choose Italy to live, study, love and grow, those who imagine their future in our country, are Italian”.

“And it is only the first step towards a more just law that recognises each one of their daughters, each one of their sons, as Italian,” he added.

Even if they are born in Italy, children of non-EU nationals who are not Italian citizens cannot apply for citizenship until they turn 18.

However, when parents become Italian citizens, minors are automatically awarded citizenship.

The request for a referendum must be now approved by two of Italy’s highest courts with a 50 per cent voter turnout for the result to be valid.

If changes to the law are passed, around 2.5 million foreigners would become eligible for Italian citizenship, campaigners said.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party is not in favour of easing the current rules.

The right-wing party is seen to have a strict anti-immigration stance. Talking to the media on Tuesday, Meloni said she considered 10 years of residency “a reasonable period for citizenship” and saw “no need to change” the law.

How can foreigners obtain Italian citizenship by residency?

Once the required period of residency has passed, or two years after marriage to an Italian citizen, non-EU nationals can make an online application for citizenship via the Italian Ministry of the Interior.

Applicants need multiple documents, including translations, for the process.

These include an original copy of your birth certificate translated and authenticated, criminal records from the countries where you currently hold citizenship, proof of residency in Italy and a certificate of B1 language proficiency.

The application costs €250.

Paris and Berlin will soon be connected by a new high-speed train service.

A night train between the French and German capitals launched in late 2023 but its daytime counterpart has lagged behind.

Now, it will finally hit the rails in December, France’s SNCF and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn have confirmed.

It’s set to bring faster, more regular connections between the two cities at a competitive price.

How long will the new Paris-Berlin train take?

Currently, travelling during the day between Paris and Berlin involves a connection and usually takes between nine and 10.5 hours.

The ÖBB Nightjet overnight train between the two capitals, meanwhile, takes around 13 hours and 15 minutes. It only departs three times a week – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Since August, the service has been suspended due to major works on the rail network. It is expected to return in late October.

The new direct train service will run daily and take around eight hours, departing Paris Gare de l’Est at 9.55am and arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 6.03pm.

In the other direction, the train will depart at 11.54am and arrive at 7.55pm.

When will the new Paris-Berlin train launch and how much will it cost?

The new high-speed ICE train will run from 16 December – just in time for Christmas. It will stop in Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt along the way.

Tickets will go on sale from 16 October, starting at €59 one way.

“This creation of a connection contributes to a common objective of our two countries: to promote carbon-free mobility,” managing director of TGV-Intercités Alain Krakovitch tweeted after announcing the new service on Tuesday.

“Compared to the plane, the [train] journey between Berlin and Paris generates only one hundredth of the CO2 emissions,” he added.

Deutsche Bahn plans to make trains more reliable

Germany’s reputation for punctuality has, in recent years, not extended to its trains. In both 2022 and 2023, over a third of long-distance trains were delayed, DB figures show.

Short-term construction works, rail repairs, staff strikes and extreme weather were the main reasons behind the delays.

The operator hopes to improve the situation in the coming year, in part by adding more long-distance services with fewer stops.

From October, it will also allow passengers to pre-book 12 months ahead, up from the current six.

As infrastructure improvements continue, DB hopes that delays will gradually ease over the next two years.