If you're planning a European holiday in 2019 you may want to check your passport now

The UK Government has started to release guidance on what to expect in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The greatest personal impact will be on the millions of British people who visit EU countries on business and on holiday.

At present, British passports only have to be valid in order to enter EU countries and this will continue to be the case post-Brexit if the deal on the table is agreed. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the rules will change for most EU member states as the UK will be considered a third country.

After 29 March 2019:

1. You should have at least six months left on your passport from your date of arrival. This applies to adult and child passports.
2. If you renewed a 10 year adult passport before it expired, extra months may have been added to your new passport’s expiry date, making it valid for more than 10 years. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the six months that should be remaining for travel to most countries in Europe.

The new rules will apply to passports issued by the UK, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

This is a very common requirement worldwide and the reason for the six month rule is so that your passport validity covers the duration of your visit.

Christmas is traditionally a busy time for passport renewals therefore, if your passport has under a year of validity left and you are planning to travel to an EU country in 2019, you may want to consider renewing sooner rather than later.