Amanda PhillipsHoliday Experience
What are the three most important things you need for a smoother holiday experience? That’s right – money, tickets, passport…but do you know where your passport is, and when it is due to expire?
You can avoid potential disaster next time you head off on your holidays by checking now. It’s best to keep your passport in a safe place – in fact, if you have a safe, why not keep it there? – so that you can find it easily. Get in to the habit of putting it back in the same place each time you travel and there’s a whole lot more chance that you will find it next time.
Once you’ve located it, then check its validity – when is it due to expire? UK adult passports are valid for 10 years, but under 16s are only valid for 5. Some countries won’t allow you entry if you have less than 6 months left, even if you are due to return home before your passport expires, and many people have been refused boarding because their passport is damaged to such an extent that it looks like it may have been tampered with. If yours has had a hard life, then it may be best to bite the bullet and apply for a new one, even at a cost of £72.50.
Passport offices, like the majority of businesses, have busy and quiet periods. While the standard service should generally take around 3 weeks if you are looking for a new or replacement passport, that can stretch to six weeks during the summer months, as demand increases in comparison to other times. They offer a Fastrack service which takes a week from your passport being accepted, for £103, but if you require a new passport urgently, for £128 there is a Premium service which sees you visiting one of the UK Passport Offices in person (they are based in London, Liverpool, Peterborough, Durham, Newport, Glasgow and Belfast). But bear in mind that, for lost or stolen passports and badly damaged ones, you cannot use Premium service.
Forms are available at the Post Office and your application will be processed more quickly if it is filled in correctly and if your passport photos adhere to the strict criteria required.
Once you have your passport, guard it carefully, as losing it costs both time and money. Taking a photocopy of it with you in a separate area of your luggage, and taking additional proof of identity such as a driving licence, means that it’s easier to get emergency travel documents from the UK consulate or embassy, should the worst happen.
Check your passport now, and look after it – that way, you’ll have a holiday to remember for all the right reasons.