Brits given passport warning as easy mistake could get you banned from European Union

Brits given passport warning as easy mistake could get you banned from European Union
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Aden-Jay Wood

By Aden-Jay Wood


Published: 10/06/2022

- 12:58

Updated: 14/02/2023

- 10:56

The Foreign Office has issued advice for those looking to travel to the EU this summer

Brits have been warned an easy passport mistake could get you banned from the European Union.

As a result of the UK leaving the EU, there are many new rules Brits will have to face when travelling across Europe this summer.


One rule means you must get your passport stamped every time you enter and exit an EU nation.

A new look passport from the counter of the London Passport Office, Victoria.
Brits could be banned from the EU for a simple passport mistake
Katie Collins

Passengers have been urged to make sure their passports are stamped before they return to the UK
Passengers have been urged to make sure their passports are stamped before they return to the UK
Ian Vogler

The rule has been implemented because another post-Brexit regulation means Brits are only allowed to stay in the EU for 90 days over a 180-day period.

But without getting an exit stamp, there is no way of telling how long you have been in the EU for.

This could cause issues for travellers, while they could also be banned from flying for a period of time.

And some passengers have already run into difficulties with the new rules.

One person claims they were not given exit stamps on the last two occasions they visited Ibiza.

They said: "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," they told Majorca Daily Bulletin.

While another holidaymaker was also hit with problems after returning to Majorca and then attempting to head to Germany.

They said: "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 has urged people to make sure that their passport has been stamped before leaving the country.

The office said: “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.”

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