The Traveller's Magazine
The FCO has launched a new campaign aimed at holidaymakers, urging them to take better care of their passports while abroad in an effort to stop wasting consular time.
The campaign is being pushed on social media and is asking British travellers #WhereDoYouKeepYours? to help reduce the number of lost and damaged passport cases. Last year, 20,612 UK passports were reported as lost or stolen by travellers while abroad. “A lot of consular time could be saved if more travellers treated their passports as something as valuable as their phones or wallets,” explains John Heppenstall, FCO head of consular campaigns.
A lot of travellers were also unaware that many countries require at least 6 months of validity in order to enter the country, and that some require at least two blank pages. Lost your passport? Here’s what to do.
Tips from the FCO on passport care
- Look after it very carefully, damaged passports cannot be used for travel. Get a case for it to minimise wear and tear.
- Your passport is not always safest on you (lock it up in a safe if you have access to one), unless local law requires you to carry it.
- Make two photocopies of your passport. Leave one at home with family and take the other with you, or store a copy of it online.
- Make sure your passport is valid. Some countries require your passport to be valid for 6 months after the date you travel.
