Martin Lewis' MSE issues urgent passport warning after UK family 'banned' from Turkey

Martin Lewis has issued an urgent passport warning after UK families were "banned" from entering Turkey. The BBC Sounds podcast host has spoken out in his weekly bulletin to Money Saving Expert subscribers today (Tuesday).

"Check your passport will be valid - it's got stricter," Mr Lewis warned in his weekly Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter sent to millions of inboxes this morning (19 June). "There are two important checks you should make, it's all about the day you enter the country."

Normally, UK passports are valid for exactly 10 years, but those issued before September 2018 could be valid for 10 years and nine months because the Passport Office used to add up to nine months from an old passport onto a new one.

READ MORE Foreign Office 'alters' Spain, Turkey, Greece travel advice amid 'red alert'

Since Brexit, Brits need to make sure their passports are issued less than 10 years ago before planning a trip to many European destinations. First, check if your passport was issued before September 2018.

Has it passed its 10-year anniversary? Even though it could have some months left, your passport will be invalid for travel to all EU countries with the exception of Ireland as well as Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland.

If you are going to these countries you must have a passport issued less than 10 years before your departure date. If your passport is invalid you can try and book an emergency appointment online at your nearest passport office which offers a one-day and a one-week fast track service.

Otherwise passports can be renewed online by HM Passport Office or by using a paper application from certain Post Offices. It can take up to three weeks to renew a passport from the UK.

"Don’t assume that just because your passport is valid for the duration of your stay, that everything is fine. Countries have a variety of rules about how long you need left, and how old the passport can be. Since Brexit, this includes most EU countries too," MSE says.

"If you fall foul of these, you could be refused entry – we've heard one story of a family's four-year-old girl being refused entry to Turkey because she had less than two months left on her passport."