before you go - passports

Please check at a Post Office or on the contact details below, about fees and services for passport applications, renewals and amendments, before booking your holiday.

As travel regulations are constantly changing, we are unable to provide up-to-date information concerning such requirements. The information provided on this website is believed to be correct at the time of publication but you must ensure you check the current position in good time before departure.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with all necessary Visa, Passport or other travel regulations.

Validity: A valid passport is essential when you travel abroad. Although your passport has been issued for 10 years (5 years for children), you should note that some overseas countries have an immigration requirement for a passport to remain valid for a minimum period after the date of entry to that country (typically 6 months). All countries require that your passport is valid both on the day you arrive and on the day you leave. If your passport is in its final year of validity, you are advised to check the requirements of the country(ies) of destination before you make final travel plans.

Apply early: If you need to apply for a passport or to renew an expired passport you should do so well in advance of travel. Currently you should allow approximately 8 weeks. The government have announced that in future some applicants will be required to undergo a personal interview.

Children and young people: All children who are not already included on a current valid British passport will need to hold their own passport if they are to travel abroad.

Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) It is now a UK Government requirement for certain key Passport & personal data to be submitted to airlines for use by the UK and other border agencies. You will be asked by your Travel Agent to provide this information, or to go to a designated web portal. If you do not submit this data and you are travelling to or via the USA you will be unable to travel as your transport provider will not be permitted to board you. For all other destinations where details are not submitted, your booking may be subject to cancellation because the transport provider may be unable to allow you to travel. The absolute final deadline for for data to be submitted is is 4 days prior to departure. Please therefore provide the data as soon a possible after the booking has been made. Inaccurate or incomplete data could delay your journey, either at check-in or with the immigration authorities. We cannot accept responsibility for incorrect or incomplete data provided, and if you are unable to travle for any reason relating to the provision (or omission) of API data, no refunds will be available. See the APIS (Advanced Passenger Information) faq section. For entry into the United States, you must submit all the required data directly into the USA's Department of Homeland Security's web-based ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) - see Visa faq section.

USA passport requirements: ALL passengers (including children) entering the USA on the visa waiver programme will be required to hold an individual machine-readable passport (MRP). An MRP has the holder's personal details e.g. name, date of birth, nationality and their passport number contained in two lines of text (looks like a bar code) at the base of the photo page. If you are not in possession of an MRP you will need to obtain a visa for entry, or apply for a new passport. Travellers without aN MRP who do not have a valid visa will be denied entry into the USA and possibly fined.

Visitors to teh USA who have a passport issued after 26 October 2005 must have a digitally printed photo in their passport. All passports issued by the UK passport office now automatically feature digitally printed photo's. Holders of passports issued before 26 October 2005 are exempt from this requirement, and will be able to enter the USA under the visa waiver programme.

Important Long Haul information regarding passports: India (including Goa), Egypt, Grenada, Jamaica, Maldives, Mexico, Mauritius, Dubai, Cuba, Thailand, Tobago Sri Lanka and Kenya currently require that passports should be valid for a minimum of 6 months beyond the visitors departure date - 3 months for Gambia. Visitors whose passports are not valid for this length of time face the possibility of being refused entry or delayed while their passport is replaced.

Please note that legislation imposed by the Indian Government prevents holders of Indian Passports travelling on charter flights from the UK to Goa and UK to Sri Lanka. If you have an Israeli stamp in your Passport and wish to visit an Arab country, please contact the Passport Office because it may be necessary to obtain a supplementary Passport.

Further information from the Identity and Passport Service can be obtained as follows:

Advice line: 0300 222 0000 (calls charged at network provider's national rate);

Website: www.ips.gov.co.uk

If you hold a Commonwealth or non-British Passport please check Passport and Visa regulations with the Consulate of all the countries you will be visiting or passing through.