General travel tips

Travel advice

Travelling in Britain
When does your passport run out?

Before you leave, make sure that:

you have filled in details of your next of kin on the last page of your passport
you have noted down your passport number and its date of issue and have put these details in a safe place, separate from your passport
you have made a photocopy of your passport details page (usually inside the back cover) and left it with a friend
you take one other form of photo ID with you
any children who are travelling on your passport will still be under 16 by the end of your journey (if not, they will need their own passport – a child passport if they are under 16 at the start of their travels and an adult one if they will be 16 before they set out).

Travelling in Britain

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is unable to advise customers as to when and where a British passport is required, as this is not a matter over which we or the British Government have any control. If you are travelling within Britain, we advise you check the requirements for the carrier that you are travelling with.

When does your passport run out?

Some countries will not let you enter if your passport has less than six months left to run. The rules vary by country. For example, South African immigration officials turn back people with fewer than two blank pages left in their passport.

If your passport is in its last year or is nearly full, you should check the rules of the country you plan to visit before booking any travel. You can ask your travel agent or contact the UK embassy or consulate of the country concerned.

If you need to renew your passport, we will credit your new passport with any time (up to nine months) that was left on the old one.

If you are worried about running out of pages in your passport, please call our 24-hour Passport Adviceline 0870 521 0410 (see terms and conditions).

Other good sources of travel advice are as follows (please note the links will open in new browser windows):

the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) 'Personal Food and Plant Imports' website (www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/illegali) for information on bringing back meat, animal products or plants from outside the European Union
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s ‘Know Before You Go’ website for more travel tips and up-to-date advice.

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24-hour Passport Adviceline: 0870 521 0410 (see terms and conditions). Calls are charged at 8p per
minute from a BT landline; live operators are available to assist with your enquiry 24 hours a day