Travelers from the United Kingdom may lose their holidays this summer due to an “unprecedented” jump in passport applications.
Those hoping to travel abroad have been warned to renew their passports “as much as possible” by Home Secretary Kevin Foster, who said a million passport applications had been received in the past month alone.
“To put this in context, we usually deal with seven million for a whole year,” he told lawmakers.
“We would advise people that this is a very, practically unprecedented jump in demand, and if people are planning to travel this summer, we would advise them to get their application as soon as possible.”
Conservative MP Simon Hoare described the passport backlog as “unprecedented, true, but predictable, absolute” and said some voters had described their experience as an “absolute breakdown”.
Meanwhile, a senior Labor MP accused the government of “sleeping at work”.
Ben Bradshaw, a former cabinet minister and currently a member of the transport committee, said: “Again, the Home Office and Priti Patel are asleep at work.
“Everyone could have predicted that after two years of travel restrictions, there would be a big leap in the renewal of passports and applications.
“Yet it seems that there was no plan for this, which means that thousands of families who were expecting to see their loved ones again or have a vacation, those hopes were dashed.
Barnsley East Labor MP Stephanie Peacock described the case of a mother who applied for her daughter’s passport in January – five months before their holiday next week – but has not yet received one.
The prospect of rising demand after travel restrictions were lifted was first raised two years ago by The Independent, who asked the Home Office: “What steps will the UK Passport Office take to speed up the renewal of passports?” and issuing new ones to those who need them? “
A spokesman for the Home Office said at the time: “Her Majesty’s Passport Office continues to process standard passport applications, but they take longer than usual as a result of changed work practices designed to protect both staff and customers.
“We give priority to those who need our services the most, especially applications for charitable reasons. We would encourage those who can to apply at a later date. “
The Independent asked the Interior Ministry today what measures were subsequently put in place to deal with the expected surge in applications.
Demand for passports has been unnecessarily increased by the government and some airlines misrepresenting post-Brexit passport rules.
The two requirements for the validity of the British passport for travel to the European Union are:
- Was it issued less than 10 years ago on the day of arrival in the EU?
- Will there be at least three months left on the planned day of departure from the EU?
These two conditions are independent of each other – so that a British traveler in Europe with a passport issued on 2 May 2012, which expires on 2 November 2022, can enter at any time until 1 May 2022.
The European Commission has repeatedly confirmed the rules to The Independent, which has shared them with airlines and the UK government.
But in the face of the evidence, the government continues to insist that there is some uncertainty as to whether the two conditions are “cumulative.” Europe’s two largest budget airlines, easyJet and Ryanair, are also enforcing tougher rules – as easyJet erroneously insists, “on the day of travel, you will need your passport to have at least six months left”.
The Independent has repeatedly asked airlines to either change their terms to comply with European Commission rules or provide some official evidence that they should not – in addition to misleading advice from the UK government.
Are you confused about the new rules for passport expiration? Not sure when to renew your travel documents? Join The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder as he handles your inquiries in the Ask Me Anything live session at 4pm today. Click here to submit your question.
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