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EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE MONEY SAVING EXPERT URGED HOLIDAYMAKERS TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS AS HE TALKED ABOUT PASSPORTS AND STRICTER AIRPORT RULES ON THE MARTIN LEWIS MONEY SHOW LAST WEEK 10:00,
01 Jun 2025Updated 10:03, 01 Jun 2025 Martin Lewis has warned jet-setting Brits to make passport checks or risk losing out on their holidays. In a recent Summer Special episode of ITV's
The Martin Lewis Money Show, the expert spoke out about new changes coming into force. It comes after a viewer called Mary contacted the show to say: "I am 80 years old and booked
flights for me and my daughter. "Her passport had seven months until the date it expired. When we were about to board, she was refused entry. The airline was unsympathetic. I did not
know about this. Whose responsibility is it to pick this up?" He said: "Now, I need to say something very important to everybody. Border control and flight checks are getting more
stringent. "There's an immigration issue going on around the world, and that means countries are getting stricter on who they let in. So you need to be more diligent with your
checks. Article continues below "Let me move on to where I was going to go. And I think I'm going to explain Mary's [the woman who wrote in to the show] issue here. "So
I've got three crucial alerts for you. First of all, two checks everybody needs to do on their passport...." He added: "So, the first check is: "1. On the day you enter
the country, are there less than six months left on your passport? Or if you're going to the EU, less than three months left? If so, that's a big problem. "But there's
another rule... "2. Even if you had seven months, and this is what I think may have happened in Mary's daughter's case (seven months left on your passport). If your passport
is over 10 years old, many countries won't let you in. "Now, how could it be over 10 years old? Because it used to be that when you renewed, if you had any spare time on your old
passport, they could add that on top. "So you might have...10 years, 10 months. And that can bar you too. So you need to do both of those checks. Article continues below "Now, if
you have done those checks, if there's yes to either of those, then the safest thing is to renew before you go. It takes three weeks typically to get a new passport and it's
cheaper to do it online. But let me be honest, I'm hearing so many cases like this. If I was seven, eight or nine months away and the rule was six months, I'd probably play safe
and get a new passport first anyway, so that I’ve got more on it because it's being so tricky. "And it's very similar if you're travelling to the USA or passing through
the USA, you need to sort your ESTA now. There is heightened border security in the States. If you don't have – this is your sort of online visa if you like – without one, people are
being denied entry. You need to be careful." Martin's Money Saving Expert website has a handy Passport renewal tips guide.