It may have been entirely foreseeable as the world started opening back up to travellers at scale this spring, but government ministers have confirmed that reported delays in new passports being issued is due to an “unprecedented surge in demand”.
Those hoping to travel abroad have been warned to renew their passports “as soon as possible” by Home Office minister Kevin Foster, who said a million passport applications were received in the last month alone.
“To put that into context, we usually deal with seven million in a whole year,” he told MPs.
Some travellers have reported waiting five months for a new travel document to be issued; the average time is currently 10 weeks.
Meanwhile, confusion still reigns post-Brexit, with airlines stipulating passport expiry rules contrary to those issued by the EU.
So how can you be sure your passport is valid? And how long before travel do you need to apply for a new one?
Our expert Simon Calder will be on hand to answer all your questions in an ‘Ask me anything’ event later today, Tuesday 26 April, between 4-5pm. He will be answering live in the comments section below.
Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question.
Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they will be hidden until Simon joins the conversation to answer them.
Then join us live on this page from 4pm today as Simon tackles as many of your travel queries as he can within an hour.
