Passport warning as easy mistake could get you banned from Europe
BRITS heading to Europe this summer are being warned to check their passports, as an easy mistake could get you banned from your flight.
There are lots of new rules in place for holidaymakers this year, with many due to the UK leaving the EU.
One of those is getting your passport stamped, which is needed every time you enter and exit an EU country.
This is because the new restrictions allow Brits to stay just 90 days over a 180 day period.
However, if you don't get an exit stamp, you could risk being seen as over-staying - and being banned from travelling.
Some tourists have already run into issues after their passports weren't stamped when they left the country.
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One passenger, who had returned from Ibiza back in April, said they had two entry stamps yet to have exit stamps.
They told "On my last two occasions visiting Ibiza on direct UK flights, my UK passport has not been exit-stamped by Spanish immigration authorities upon leaving Ibiza back to the UK.
"I now have two 'un-closed' Spanish visits in my UK passport, making a nonsense of the 90-day rule, and running the risk of me being accused of overstaying my rolling 90 days’ allowance. Which I haven’t."
Another holidaymaker who returned from Majorca said that they didn't get their passport stamped when they left the country - which led to them being held for an hour when they later visited another Germany.
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They explained: "Luckily I had documents confirming I had left Majorca well before the end of the 90-day period.
"But it took time to convince the German police, leaving others I had travelled with waiting for me to be allowed entry into the country.
The Foreign Office currently advises holidaymakers to check they are having their passports stamped when they leave the country.
The latest advice warns: “Border guards will use passport stamps to check you’re complying with the 90-day visa-free limit for short stays in the Schengen area.
“If relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, border guards will presume that you have overstayed your visa-free limit."
It added: “You can show evidence of when and where you entered or exited the Schengen area, and ask the border guards to add this date and location in your passport. Examples of acceptable evidence include boarding passes and tickets.”
Last year, a woman was stopped from entering Spain due to a new passport error at the border, despite having evidence.
But make sure you don't have any novelty stamps in your passport as this could also get you banned from your flight.
And thousands of families have been left fearing for their holidays after huge passport application delays this year, due to soaring demand following the pandemic.
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One family waited more than five months to get their passport back, while another said their daughter's 5th birthday to Disneyland Paris was ruined.
We've explained how to get a fast track passport renewal if you need it in a hurry.
