New passport rules for Brits travelling to Spain, Italy, Portugal, and more EU countries

After two years of a pandemic that, thankfully, now appears to be receding, this summer is likely to be a busy one for holidaymakers. However, that also means it's likely to be the first time since Brexit finally happened that many people are heading abroad.

As such, there are a few differences to bear in mind. One main difference is the new set of passport rules.

British passport holders travelling to the EU must abide by the Schengen area's passport requirements. That means your passport must be less than 10 years old on the day you enter your destination country - check the date of issue for this.

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It also means you must have at least three months left on your passport on the day you leave to come back to the UK. The expiry date is the important thing here, then.

Those rules apply to popular tourist hotspots including Spain, Greece, Germany, Portugal, and Italy, among others. The full list of applicable countries is below.

The UK Passport Office is currently experiencing long delays, with wait times for passport renewals at around 10 weeks. So if your passport is running out, apply to renew it as soon as possible.

Countries the new passport rules apply to

1. Andorra
2. Austria
3. Belgium
4. Bulgaria
5. Croatia
6. Cyprus
7. Czech Republic
8. Denmark
9. Estonia
10. Finland
11. France
12. Germany
13. Greece
14. Hungary
15. Iceland
16. Italy
17. Latvia
18. Liechtenstein
19. Lithuania
20. Luxembourg
21. Malta
22. Monaco
23. Netherlands
24. Norway
25. Poland
26. Portugal
27. Romania
28. San Marino
29. Slovakia
30. Slovenia
31. Spain
32. Sweden
33. Switzerland
34. Vatican City

Note these include every EU country except Ireland, which operates its own visa policy and has a unique arrangement with Britain. This arrangement allows Brits to travel to Ireland with an passport that is valid and in date; the three-month rule does not apply.