What's changed
Passport and entry rules change often. Every rule on this site is checked against GOV.UK foreign travel advice, and we record each update here.
✓ Automatic check: every destination compared with GOV.UK on 13 October 2026 at 6:00am. Last manual review: 9 October 2026.
142 more destinations added — now 227
- Every country and territory with GOV.UK foreign travel advice now has its own passport rule page and is in the checker.
- New regions include Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Pacific islands, the Caribbean and British Overseas Territories.
- Where GOV.UK counts validity from a visa date we can't know (for example Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Russia), the checker uses the safer test and explains this.
- Pages for countries where the FCDO advises against all or some travel show that warning at the top.
34 more destinations added — now 85
- Added Gibraltar, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City.
- Added Brazil, Cuba, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina and Chile.
- Added China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Seychelles and Tanzania.
- Gibraltar: from 15 July 2026 its short-stay entry rules align with Schengen — passport issued within 10 years and valid 3 months after you leave Gibraltar or the Schengen area.
Passport checker: clearer results and family checks
- Results now show every rule we checked, the exact dates and how many days you have to spare.
- New "renew by" date and the last arrival date your passport works for.
- Check several passports at once for family trips.
- The checker now covers every destination on the site.
Rule changes found and corrected
- Thailand: since 15 September 2026, visa-free visits are up to 30 days for tourism only (previously 60 days).
- Egypt: since 1 August 2026, Cairo airport also sells digital visas on arrival by card (36 US dollars).
- Ireland: some airlines and ferry operators now accept only a passport as ID.
- ETIAS: no start date has been confirmed; 2027 is now likely.
- Emergency Travel Document fee updated to £125.
- UK passport fees updated to the 8 April 2026 rates (adult online renewal £102).
New guides
- Passport problems and urgent help: urgent, lost, expired, damaged, name change, child passports and renewing.
- Winter and Christmas travel guides, and the best Christmas markets in Europe 2026.
How we keep rules up to date
Every day, an automatic check compares the GOV.UK entry requirements for every destination with the version we last reviewed. When GOV.UK changes a page, we're alerted and review it before updating the site. We also do a full manual review every month. If you spot something that looks out of date, please tell us. UK Passport Checker is an independent guide and is not part of HM Passport Office or the FCDO.