Martin lewis shares important holiday passport warning for summer travellers

THE MONEY SAVING EXPERT WARNED THAT NEW IMMIGRATION RULES AROUND THE WORLD COULD STOP YOUR HOLIDAY BEFORE IT EVEN BEGINS. HERE ARE TWO CRUCIAL CHECKS TO DO NOW LINDA HOWARD Money and

Consumer Writer and WILLIAM MORGAN Senior reporter 23:41, 21 May 2025 During a summer special of Money Show Live, Martin Lewis covered a plethora of seasonal subjects encompassing everything

from options for holiday childcare, strategies to tackle mobile roaming charges and the best credit cards for overseas spending. Yet one critical factor that might jeopardise your summer

break are passport issues, as Martin highlighted two key checks that need to be done immediately to ensure your holiday flies by free of trouble. He articulated how worldwide immigration

rules have become more stringent, noting the importance of ensuring your passport isn't set to expire within certain time limits to sidestep any travel turmoil. A viewer named Mary

reached out during the show, recounting her dilemma: "I am 80 years old and booked flights for me and my daughter. Her passport had seven months until the date it expired. When we were

about to board she was refused entry. The airline was unsympathetic. I did not know about this. Whose responsibility is it to pick this up?" READ MORE: Popular Spanish holiday

destinations left 'overwhelmed' as new change backfiresREAD MORE: Big blow for summer holidays as date UK tourists can use E-gates announced Martin then clarified to STV audience

members that it is the travellers' duty to ensure whether they possess the 'right to fly', reports the Daily Record. He elaborated: "I need to say something very

important to everybody. Border control and flight checks are getting more stringent, there's an immigration issue going on around the world and that means countries are getting stricter

on who they let in, so you need to be more diligent with your checks." The financial expert highlighted two vital passport checks "everybody needs to do on their passport"

ahead of international travel. He elaborated: "These are very important, this is about the day that you will enter the country. "The first check is on the day you enter the country

- are there less than six months left on your passport, or if you're going to the EU less than three months left? If so, that's a big problem. "But, there's another rule

- even if you had seven months left on your passport - if your passport is over 10 years old many countries won't let you in." The finance guru commented on the change in passport

renewal process which no longer carries over any unused time from the old document. He noted that this could be why Mary's daughter faced travel issues. To avoid uncertainty after

conducting both checks, Martin advises travellers to renew their passports. He suggested: "If it's 'yes' to either of those, then the safest thing to do is renew before

you go. It takes three weeks typically to get a new passport and it's cheaper to do it online." Acknowledging the number of similar situations arisen, he added: "But let me be

honest, I'm hearing so many cases like this. If I was seven, eight or nine months away and the rule was six months, I'd probably play safe and get a new passport first

anyway." Martin also strongly recommended people heading to the United States for a holiday or a stopover to apply for their ESTA as soon as possible. He warned: "There are

tightened border security in the States and if you don't have this - your online visa - people are being denied entry, you need to be careful." Article continues below Full details

on renewing your passport online for £94.50 can be found on GOV.UK here.