Nine million Brits risk being turned away at airports due to four passport issues

More than nine million Brits could risk being turned away at the airport due to four crucial passport issues. According to a new survey from YouGov, around 40% of people in the UK are unaware of some vital travel rules.

Based on the number of UK holidaymakers in 2024, experts at GoCompare say this means around 9.6 million British travellers might not realise if their passport becomes unusable.

Advice on the Government website is clear - if your passport has rips, tears, holes or water damaged it could be invalid for travel.

“If your passport is damaged, you must replace it. You may not be able to travel with it,” GOV.UK says. This is also the case if you cannot read any of your details, any of the pages are ripped, cut or missing, the cover is coming away, or there are stains on the pages.

If this is the case with your passport, you will need to get it replaced before travelling. This costs £94.50 online or £107 using the paper service.

The YouGov study, which surveyed 2,000 people, also showed that close to half (45%) of valid passport holders didn't know their passport could be rejected if its cover was loose or damaged. A further 64% of Brits don’t realise that passports with unofficial stamps or stickers can be rejected.

Only two in five UK adults (41%) knew they wouldn’t be covered by their travel insurance policy if they made one of these passport errors. Without cover, holidaymakers risk losing out on any money spent on their trip if they can’t travel because of a problem with their passport.

Experts at GoCompare also highlighted other essential passport rules, including making sure your passport is valid for the correct length of time for your stay and destination. Concerningly, less than half (44%) of UK adults know that a passport must be less than 10 years old before departure to Europe, and only 60% are aware that it must be valid for at least three months after the return date.

Even fewer travellers knew a passport must be valid for at least six months from entry into Australia, China, Thailand, UAE, India and Indonesia (42%). Fewer still (24%) knew it must be valid for at least three months beyond the departure date when visiting New Zealand.

Rhys Jones, travel insurance expert at GoCompare, commented: “Unfortunately, you likely won’t be covered under your travel insurance for any costs incurred from passport problems preventing your departure. That’s why it’s so important to know the rules for any destination you plan to visit and to check your passport well before you travel.

“You can check passport validity requirements for different countries on the UK government's foreign travel advice page. If you’re not sure if your passport will be in date, it’s better to be on the safe side and renew it before you attempt to travel.”

The number of travellers who are unaware of this passport rule was calculated by applying the percentage of travellers who said they weren’t aware of this rule (sourced via the YouGov survey) to the number of UK travellers in 2024. This is based on the same number of travellers going abroad in 2025.

For more information about passport requirements, visit gov.uk/renew-adult-passport.