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I have an upcoming trip from the UK to the EU and am scheduled to return to the UK on the 13th August.

My passport was issued on 13th November 2013, so under the new rules, I guess it "expires" on 13th November 2023 (the official expiry is later, but so be it)

Given that my passport must be valid for at least 3 months after the envisaged departure date from France, is this trip permitted, or will I need to depart a day earlier? (The French consulate has been rubbish with this question)

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  • What 'new rules'? The 10 year rule ('it shall have been issued within the previous 10 years') has been part of the Schengen Border Code since 2013-10-18 and was based on the ICAO Doc 9303 recommendation since (at least) 2006. The European Commision has requested a 'generous' solution to the UK case (where the recommendation has only been followed since September 2018), but some countries have not done so. Commented Jul 19, 2023 at 11:04
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    @MarkJohnson as far as British citizens are concerned, it is a rule that they newly must comply with, so it is new to them.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 19, 2023 at 11:39

2 Answers 2

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Your anticipated departure date is 13 August. Even if your passport were unambiguously expiring on 13 November, you would be able to make the trip, because 13 November is the last day of validity, and 13 November is three months after 13 August.

The potential problem here is that as of 13 November 2023, the issue date of 13 November 2013 is arguably not "within the previous 10 years," meaning that your passport could be seen as having an effective expiration of 12 November 2023.

The Practical Handbook for Border Guards, however, very explicitly says that the ten-year requirement need only be met at the time of entry (page 28 of the 2022 version):

CHECKS ON THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS UPON ENTRY

3.1. The entry conditions to be fulfilled by third-country nationals when entering the territory of a Schengen State are the following:

(a) the possession of a valid travel document or documents authorising them to cross the border, whereby its validity must extend at least three months after the intended date of departure from the Schengen States (although in a justified case of emergency, this obligation may be waived) and it must have been issued within the previous 10 years; the requirement that the travel document must have been issued within the previous ten years must be fulfilled at the day of entry (but not necessarily during the stay)58, provided that its validity extends until the end of the stay plus three months;

*Example:

A third country traveller arrives on 21 November 2022 for a 20 days stay in the EU with a passport issued on 23 November 2012 and valid until 23 March 2023. The entry condition of Article 6(1), point (a), of the Schengen Borders Code is fulfilled, since at the day of arrival the issuance date was less than 10 years ago and the validity extends beyond three months after the intended date of departure.

(Emphasis added)

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    12 November 2023 is the last full day the passport is valid. (Dates on my previous passport: 02.11.2012 - 01.11.2022) Commented Jul 19, 2023 at 11:52
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    @MarkJohnson what bearing does your previous passport have on this? Some countries issue passports to expire the day before the anniversary of their issue, others on the day. But that is not particularly relevant to the interpretation that any EU border authority gives to "shall have been issued within the previous 10 years."
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 19, 2023 at 12:06
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    Kindly give an example of one country that issues a passport for 10 years an one day. The passports I know of (including US passports in my collection) do not. And the point of adding the dates of my previous passport in the second part of my comment was to proof the point of the first part of the comment (which you, it seems, have compleatly failed to comprehend). Since 'any EU border authority' learned it as I learned it (the from/to dates are inclusive), only you come to the conclusion that it is not relevant. Commented Jul 19, 2023 at 13:07
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    @MarkJohnson the Netherlands is such a country as the sample at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_passport shows and as my actual Dutch passports also reflect. Since different countries interpret "ten years" differently, it's not clear which interpretation applies here (and the handbook example carefully avoids the question by using 21 November for a passport issued on 23 November).
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 19, 2023 at 16:34
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    Just as another data point because my curiosity was piqued - my latest UK passport is also valid for 10 years and 1 day (from X/Y/Z to X/Y/Z+10) and the sample at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_passport shows this as well. An Irish and a German passport are both issued for 10 years exactly though, from X/Y/Z to X-1/Y/Z+10.
    – Edd
    Commented Jul 20, 2023 at 9:48
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Using some assumed data not mentioned in your question, IATA Travel Centre returned the answer that you’re good to go with a warning that Passports and/or passport replacing documents issued more than 10 years prior to date of travel are not accepted.

To get a reliable answer, input your full personal details and travel itinerary using the link above.

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  • Thanks, this is a super-useful link!
    – Jon Bates
    Commented Jul 20, 2023 at 10:18

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