Bags? Packed. Flight? Checked in. Hotel? Booked. Taxi? Sorted. But then you arrive at the airport, only to be told your passport is no longer valid.
This nightmare scenario is becoming increasingly common, and it has nothing to do with expired documentation or ‘obvious’ errors.
The rule catching Brits out is the 10-year expiry rule, which means that passports need to be less than 10 years old on the day of entry.
Under post-Brexit travel rules, UK passports must have been issued less than 10 years before the date of entry into most EU countries, regardless of the expiry date printed inside the document.
Unfortunately, despite the clarity of the rule, many Brits have been caught out.
Most recently, Bolaji Omisade, 35, was left stranded at an airport while her husband and sons flew off on holiday without her.
The mum arrived at London Gatwick Airport excited for a family trip to Greece – when easyJet staff told her she would not be allowed to board.
Her passport had not expired but staff informed her that it had been issued more than 10 years earlier, meaning it did not meet EU entry requirements.
Due to the EU’s ’10-year rule,’ British passports are required to be less than 10 years old on the day of entry
Bolaji Omisade is the most recent victim of the little-known passport rule
‘Until that moment, I had absolutely no idea this rule existed,’ Bolaji, a social worker and content creator from Rainham, Essex, told creatorzine.com.
Bolaji said she had checked her passport expiry date before travelling but had never heard of the separate issue-date rule.
The devastating discovery came as she stood at check-in with her three sons watching.
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She said: ‘I had to hold back my emotions because my children were watching everything unfold.
‘As a parent, that was one of the hardest parts. They were so disappointed.’
With no refund available and departure time approaching, the family faced a painful decision.
Her husband boarded the flight with their two older boys, while Bolaji returned home with their youngest son.
The situation became even more frustrating when she spotted another traveller being turned away for exactly the same reason.
She said: ‘That was the moment I realised this wasn’t an isolated incident.’
Bolaji Omisade with her husband and children, whose trip was badly affected by the mistake
Determined to salvage the holiday, Bolaji immediately booked an appointment through His Majesty’s Passport Office one-day premium service.
With no suitable appointments available in London because of the bank holiday weekend, she travelled to Newport, Wales, the night before and stayed in a Travelodge ahead of a 9.30am appointment.
After waiting several hours for her new passport to be issued, she travelled back and booked brand-new flights for herself and her youngest son.
The extra costs quickly mounted.
Between the emergency passport, hotel stay, travel expenses and replacement flights, the family ended up spending an additional £700.
Bolaji and her youngest son eventually joined the rest of the family on the Thursday, leaving them with just two days of the holiday before returning home on Saturday.
She has since shared her experience on social media to warn other travellers and encourage airlines and booking platforms to make the rule clearer.
She added: ‘I believe airlines and booking platforms could do much more to highlight this rule.
‘If sharing my story helps even one family avoid being turned away at the airport, then something positive will have come from what was a very upsetting experience.’
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time something like this has happened.
A mum filmed herself sobbing after being forced to miss out on a holiday as a result of the rule
Last year, another mum was reduced to tears when she was forced to miss out on a girls’ holiday – after falling foul of the ‘small print’ in EU passport rules.
Chelsea Rodd was excited to fly to Milan for a three-night trip to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday on September 26, 2025 from Gatwick airport.
However, the 35-year-old was ‘shocked’ to be told by airport staff her passport wouldn’t permit her to fly to the EU while checking in her luggage.
Despite the mum-of-one’s passport expiry date not being for another seven months, it was more than 10 years old.
Before September 2018 the UK passport office added unused months from a person’s old passport to their new one, meaning Chelsea’s passport was valid for 10 years and nine months.
While her passport was technically in date until April 2026, her early renewal meant that under the EU 10-year passport rule it did not permit travel to the EU any more as it was more than 10 years old.
She ‘tried everything’ to be able to fly, including trying to get an emergency passport, but was ‘devastated’ to discover it wouldn’t arrive in time.
After ‘trying not to get upset’ in front of her friends and begging them to go without her, she was ‘heartbroken’ to have to travel home alone and miss out on the £418 trip.
Chelsea Rodd was excited to fly to Milan for a three-night trip last year – but was left disappointed
Chelsea shared video footage on TikTok, captioned ‘I just learned the hard way that for travel to the EU your UK passport must have been issued within the last 10 years.’
Many users took to the comments to share their sympathy – revealing ‘this happened to me too’.
However, other users criticised Chelsea’s mistake and pointed out ‘this is common knowledge’.
Evidently, despite the rule being clear, travellers have been caught out – so ahead of upcoming trips, travellers are urged to get up to scratch on the legislation to ensure they don’t suffer the same fate.
