'Vital' advice issued to anyone with burgundy passport ahead of summer

If you still hold a burgundy UK passport, you must check one thing before .

The UK switched from burgundy to blue ones back in 2020, but even five years after the switch, many of us who already had an in-date passport are still rocking the burgundy.

Most passports are issued for around 10 years, meaning the switch to blue passports will not be fully completed until 2030, when all the remaining burgundy passports will have expired.

However, holidaymakers with burgundy passports have been urged to before heading on their holidays this summer, as some circumstances could make their passports invalid.

In a video shared on by Rudge Daily, it was explained that all burgundy passport holders must make "vital checks" before travelling, especially surrounding their passport's issue date and expiry date.

The man detailed: "There's a high chance the old coloured documents break travel rules, so anyone who owns one is urged to make vital checks well in advance. The two most important details to check are your passport's issue date and expiry date."

He went on to explain that if you are planning on travelling to countries within the (EU), your passport must be less than 10 years old and valid for at least three months after the day you plan to return home.

He added: "Brits going on their holidays continue to be caught out by the rules, as research found that fewer than 50% of people are aware of the 10-year cut-off before 2018."

Before 2018, passports could be valid for as long as 10 years and nine months. This is because any time left on your old passport when you renewed would be added to your new passport. For example, if you renewed your passport when you still had five months until it expired, your new passport would be valid for 10 years and five months.

In this example, if your passport was issued in 2015, you might still have five months left and be valid under the three-month rule. But as your passport was issued over 10 years ago, you would still not be able to travel within the EU.

Rudge Daily explained: "While you might still have plenty of time left before the expiry date, it is more likely to be over 10 years old and therefore invalid for EU travel. If you're going abroad, it's always best to just quickly Google the passport rules for [the country you're visiting]."

This is only an issue that would affect burgundy passport holders, as anyone with a blue passport will have been issued it in 2020 or later. This means it should be well within the date, as adult passports are still valid for exactly 10 years.

However, if you have children, you may want to check their passports even if they have blue ones, as children's passports are typically only valid for five years.

Passport validity rules for countries outside the EU

Passport rules differ depending on which country you are planning to travel to. In the US and Canada, your passport must be in date for the entirety of your trip, but it does not have to have the three-month buffer. However, it is recommended you have six months extra validity in order to avoid any issues.

New Zealand has similar rules to the EU in that your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned departure date, while Australia states your passport must be valid for at least six months from your date of entry into the country.

Thailand, China, Indonesia, India, and the United Arab Emirates all follow the same guidance as Australia, while Japan simply needs your passport to be valid for the whole time you're in the country. The Post Office recommends having extra validity to be on the safe side, but Japan doesn't require it for travel.