What to do if your passport doesn’t arrive on time for your holiday

THOUSANDS of Brits hoping to go on holiday this year have had their plans ruined due to huge delays with passport renewals.

We’ve explained what you should do if you find yourself without a new passport when going on holiday.

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The government recently issued new advice for Brits hoping to get a new passport before their travel plans.

The current guidance is to allow up to 10 weeks to get it back, although many have said it was just five weeks when they send theirs off.

Director General of HM Passport Office, Abi Tierney, said: “Now that international travel has resumed, we know people will be looking at going away on holiday and yet many people are leaving applying for a passport too late.  

“The summer holidays are fast approaching so if you need a new passport, we urge you to apply now.

“Our dedicated staff are working tirelessly to ensure that passport applications are processed as quickly as possible.” 

However, if your passport doesn’t arrive in time, then airlines and tour operators will not issue a refund if your need to cancel your holiday as it is not in their control.

While you can try and claim through your travel insurance, most will not cover this problem either.

Instead, it is best to try and move the holiday dates, although this will incurr extra fees you will have to pay.

Many tour operators allow you to move the dates for a fee, as long as you cover the difference in price.

If they don’t offer a refund, they may offer the price of the holiday in credit for you to use at a later date.

Here is the exact date you need to renew your passport to make sure it arrives in time for the summer holidays.

A mum was forced to miss out on her £2,200 Easter holiday to Spain with her family after being caught up in the huge passport delays.

A family was forced to cancel their £1,800 holiday to the Canary Islands after they were stuck without one of their passports due to huge delays.

And a 10-year-old boy was left “sobbing” after being forced to miss his school holiday with his friends due to delays with passport renewals.

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