Passport

[Citybreak1]

I’m planning a day visit to Brussels via Eurostar on November 1st the passport I have expires Feb 5th 2023 are they likely to be picky with the 3 month rule? Ideally I’m hoping to renew over Christmas when it’s quieter and I won’t be travelling. Fast tracking a new passport seems expensive.

Also any hope France will drop the testing rule by November as my preference was Lille?

 

[Snow1964]

You also need to check the issue date, some countries (including France) sometimes don’t accept passports more than 10 years from issue date

I wouldn’t worry about fast tracking if you have 3 months before travel, and not going until November, whilst issuing is busy in the summer, quickens up lots in Sept and Oct, I have known people use fast track and taken longer than those who didn’t, it is extra money for an unreliable upgrade.

 

[Citybreak1]

Yes the issue date is 5th Feb 2013. I assume if it wasn’t accepted I couldn’t leave St Pancras? My worry is having awkward border force at Brussels? Wouldn’t want to be stranded in Belgium.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

For outward/return travel on 1 Nov 2022 your passport needs to have been issued later than 1 Nov 2012 on the outward (ie is less than 10 years old).
If you pass that rule on the outward leg, you should be OK on the return leg as you still have 3 months left on the passport.

What testing rule for France?
There were no entry requirements when I travelled there last month.
I had my vaccination record with me but was never asked for it.

 

[zero]

Yes the issue date is 5th Feb 2013. I assume if it wasn’t accepted I couldn’t leave St Pancras? My worry is having awkward border force at Brussels? Wouldn’t want to be stranded in Belgium.

That date is fine.

If it was not fine, French passport control at St Pancras wouldn't let you board the train to Brussels (so you would have to "leave" the station on foot).

As a British citizen, you have the right to enter the UK, even an expired passport would be accepted (there is a minor risk that you might have renounced your citizenship, presumably they can check that electronically if they want to).

 

[AndrewE]

I have just renewed mine early (Sept expiry) and it came in 8 days! So I lost quite a few months as they now run 10 years from renewal rather than when the old one expires. SWMBO points out that I probably won't be using it by then anyway... there's cheerful!

I applied online and the most difficult thing was getting them to accept our photo. When we finally offered one with colour acceptable to their computer it said it looked as though either I wasn't standing upright or wasn't facing the camera. I replied that it was a good likeness and neither was the case, expecting the need for manual intervention to delay it by months. In fact I had an email the next day saying it was approved.

(There should not have been any reason for delay as it was a "vanilla" renewal: no complications of any kind, not even a parking ticket.)

 

[Cloud Strife]

Yes the issue date is 5th Feb 2013. I assume if it wasn’t accepted I couldn’t leave St Pancras? My worry is having awkward border force at Brussels? Wouldn’t want to be stranded in Belgium.

Border Force will let you travel back, even without a valid passport. The Belgian police won't care as long as the passport is valid, and even if it's not valid, the general process for British citizens is to refer them to UKBF for a decision on whether they can travel or not.

 

[edwin_m]

I had my vaccination record with me but was never asked for it.

Mine was scanned outbound at St Pancras on 19 May, so I assume that could still happen.

 

[bspahh]

I’m planning a day visit to Brussels via Eurostar on November 1st the passport I have expires Feb 5th 2023 are they likely to be picky with the 3 month rule? Ideally I’m hoping to renew over Christmas when it’s quieter and I won’t be travelling. Fast tracking a new passport seems expensive.

Also any hope France will drop the testing rule by November as my preference was Lille?

I renewed my passport last month using the standard online service. I posted it by Special Delivery and got the new one 16 days later.

https://www.passportwaitingtime.co.uk/ is good for updated news on waiting times

 

[David M]

They're not likely to be picky, they will definitely strictly adhere to the rules - it's not Belgium's fault we left the EU. Like the poste above, it took a fortnight when I renewed in March at the height of the huge delays stories. Complete the forms properly and they are quick.

 

[EAD]

Just to point to the primary sources here (an occupational hazard for me). The issued within last 10 years at time of entry and 3 months remaining at time of departure for third country nationals entering the Schengen area are summarised here.

These come from Regulation (EU) 2016/399 [Schengen Borders Code] at Art 6 (Entry conditions for third-country nationals) which specifically says: (a) they are in possession of a valid travel document entitling the holder to cross the border satisfying the following criteria:

(i) its validity shall extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States. In a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived;​

(ii) it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years​

​

Others have already offered helpful practical advice. Worth noting that heading out from London you don't pass a UK border (we don't do manned exit control), but there is a person that will scan your exit under Eurostar's obligation to the Home Office. You will then see the French border post in front of you at St Pancras and will get your wet ink stamp for entry (Art 11 of the same regulation). On the way back it is essentially the reverse, other than the fact you will be greeted by the Belgian border post first (who will stamp you out of Schengen) and then the UK border. I have omitted the security check part in the process for simplicity.

Have a good trip when it comes!

 

[duncanp]

I’m planning a day visit to Brussels via Eurostar on November 1st the passport I have expires Feb 5th 2023 are they likely to be picky with the 3 month rule? Ideally I’m hoping to renew over Christmas when it’s quieter and I won’t be travelling. Fast tracking a new passport seems expensive.

Also any hope France will drop the testing rule by November as my preference was Lille?

The rule is that you must have at least three months left on your passport on the day that you plan to leave the EU.

As you are only going for a day trip on November 1st 2022, and your passport expires on February 5th 2023, you satisfy this rule.

It is possible that French passport control at St Pancras might want to see evidence that you plan to leave the EU by the latest possible date of November 5th, in which case you can show them your return ticket.

 

[CC 72100]

On vaccinations, when i went to Lyon at the start of May there were no COVID checks at all, first time I'd travelled without having to show * something * to * somebody * at some point.

However, I did the Eurostar to Paris last weekend and we had to show proof of COVID vaccination on the outward. No requirement on the way back, so must have been a French entry requirement.

 

[skyhigh]

What testing rule for France?
There were no entry requirements when I travelled there last month.
I had my vaccination record with me but was never asked for it.

Can confirm I've travelled to France via ferry and Eurostar twice in the last month and haven't been asked for any proof of vaccination and certainly no requirement to test before travel.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Fast tracking a new passport seems expensive.

In May I applied for a new Passport at the Post Office - they filled in the forms and took the photo and submitted it all online. Twenty days later I had my new Passport which I thought was a very good timescale.
It cost slightly more than an online application for which I would in any case have needed help uploading a passport photo so it seemed the best option to me.

 

[edwin_m]

Arrived in Madrid airport this evening, they asked to see my pass but didn't scan it.