Everybody’s centered on flights and inns for the youngsters, however one ignored passport rule can spoil the entire journey for everybody.
Dad and mom must be answerable for their youngsters’s passports (Picture: Getty)
People who find themselves planning a vacation this 12 months with their youngsters ought to double examine one element on their passports to keep away from any points on the airport. It comes because the UK Authorities issued a reminder about passports for folks underneath 16.
Grownup passports issued within the UK have a 10-year lifespan, that means most individuals solely have to renew the doc each decade or so. However for households with younger youngsters, the dates may be more durable to align, and a few youngsters could also be nearer to having an expired or invalid doc than folks assume.
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In a put up on X, the Passport Workplace mentioned: “Little one passports final 5 years, however many international locations require months of validity to enter. Test earlier than you guide – you could have to renew prior to you assume.”
If a toddler’s passport just isn’t legitimate (expired, broken, or invalid), the foundations are easy – they can not journey. That is the case even when the adults accompanying them have legitimate passports.
What entry guidelines do completely different international locations have for youngster passports?
Within the majority of instances, the foundations for youngsters are virtually equivalent to adults. The one main distinction is that youngsters will depend on their dad and mom or authorized guardians to make sure the doc is legitimate.
For many international locations within the EU, together with vacation hotspots like Spain and Greece, a toddler’s passport have to be legitimate for at the very least three months after the day you intend to depart. It should even have been issued lower than 10 years earlier than the date you enter.
In different components of the world, passports might have extra validity earlier than adults and kids are allowed to journey there from the UK. International locations like Indonesia, India, Thailand, and components of the Center East, comparable to Dubai, require travellers to have at the very least six months’ validity on arrival.
To enter the USA, passports “have to be legitimate for the size of your deliberate keep” together with an permitted Digital System for Journey Authorisation (ESTA) or a visa. The Overseas Workplace added that, for those who’re travelling by means of one other nation in your strategy to or from the USA, examine the entry necessities for that nation.
For probably the most correct guidelines, lookup the particular nation you’re visiting on the Overseas Workplace web site right here. It lists greater than 220 areas around the globe, and every has a selected part devoted to the entry necessities wanted.
?????? Little one passports final 5 years, however many international locations require months of validity to enter. Test earlier than you guide – you could have to renew prior to you assume.
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#FamilyTravel #ChildPassportRenewal pic.twitter.com/SKmYoT2dsi— His Majesty’s Passport Workplace (@HM_Passport) April 15, 2026
What does it price for youngsters to get a brand new passport?
As of April 2026, costs have been raised for individuals who could also be due a brand new passport. For under-16s, the usual 34-page youngster passport value went up from £61.50 to £66.50 (a £5 enhance).
To resume a toddler’s passport, click on right here. Their dad and mom or authorized guardian will want:
- The kid’s previous passport
- Any legitimate passports from a distinct nation your youngster has – ship both a color photocopy of every web page (together with clean ones) or the bodily passport
- Any related court docket orders regarding the kid (for instance that describe parental accountability or residency preparations)
To finish the method, youngsters will want pictures which are both printed (if posting the applying) or digital (if finishing the varieties on-line). Time left in your youngster’s previous passport won’t be added to their new one.
The GOV.UK web site claims that passports which are invalid (or can be invalid on the time of journey) have to be renewed earlier than folks can journey. Individuals shouldn’t guide any holidays till they’ve a sound passport, as their new passport won’t have the identical quantity because the previous one.
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