Passports

(asked on 22nd March 2023) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits for early renewal of passports and reduction of pressure on HM Passport Office staff of allowing up to six months remaining validity of old passports to be added to new passports.


Answered by
Robert Jenrick Portrait
Robert Jenrick
This question was answered on 27th March 2023

When renewing a British passport between 2001 and September 2018, up to nine months of remaining validity of the old passport could be added to the new passport. Renewed adult passports could therefore be valid for up to 10 years and 9 months.

The UK was the last country to carry over unused validity to a new passport. However, international civil aviation guidelines are that an adult passport should be valid for a maximum of 10 years, and a passport for a child should be issued for a maximum of five years.

Alongside side this, each country, or group of countries, may set out a requirement for passport validity as a condition of entry. This includes passports held by a third-country national, such as a British citizen, not being permitted to enter countries within the Schengen Area with a passport that was issued more than ten years previously. For these reasons, there are currently no plans to return to the policy of adding remaining validity to new passports.

Reticulating Splines