Should I renew my passport to travel to South America?
Simon Calder on passport renewal, travelling to Turkey and Irish passport cards
Q Another passport question for you, I’m afraid. I am looking forward to a six-week trip at the end of the year to South America – probably early November to mid-December. My passport was issued on 12 December 2013 and expires on 12 May 2024. Should I renew it before I travel? I’d really prefer not to because I have a number of business and family trips in the coming months.
Susie L
A I found researching the answer for you fascinating because of the sharply varied policies across the 13 nations of South America. The “Southern Cone” trio of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, as well as Paraguay, have no minimum validity requirement. If your journey involves only those countries, there is no need to renew. The next half-dozen – Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname – require you to have six months remaining on your passport from the date of arrival to the expiry date. That means you could not arrive in any of them with your current passport after 12 November, though you could, for example, be in Peru from 1 to 20 November and then head south to Chile, carefully avoiding Bolivia.
In the unlikely event that you were planning to visit Venezuela, against Foreign Office advice, your passport would need to be valid for six months from departure. If you are keeping count, that leaves two countries. The first is French Guiana, which is actually an overseas department of France (you can see its tiny silhouette on euro banknotes). As French and wider EU rules apply, this is the one South American nation that cares about your passport issue date. You cannot enter after its 10th birthday on 12 December.
Finally, Colombia – which in my opinion is the most diverse and wonderful of South American nations. The Foreign Office says cryptically: “If you are visiting Colombia, your passport must be valid on entry. You can end up stranded if your passport is not valid for more than six months beyond the date you expect to leave Colombia.” The US State Department echoes: “Six months’ validity is strongly recommended.” But Colombia’s embassy in London says only that your passport needs to be valid, and I would rely upon that.
Q I’m going to Turkey in August. Given the political situation, do you think I should get my Turkish lira now or wait?
LK
A I have just returned from a fascinating and enjoyable visit to the southern Turkish coast around Antalya – itself a fascinating city – and so I am in a fair position to advise.
First, the political situation. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the populist incumbent, is seeking a third consecutive term as president in the election on 14 May. His main opponent is the centre-left candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu. If there is no outright winner, the race may be determined in a run-off two weeks later, on 28 May.
The current president’s economic policies have led to a steady decline in the value of the Turkish lira (YTL). On this day five years ago, you would have got around YTL5.50 for your pound. While sterling has sunk against other currencies, such as the US dollar, it has risen fourfold against the Turkish lira.
You can expect YTL24 for £1 if you shop around – but only today. By next week the rate will probably have improved even more in your favour, due to the current economic difficulties – notably high inflation – for which many blame the president. If a new president takes over, the markets may stabilise, but in any event my advice remains the same.
Do not get Turkish lira in large quantities in the UK: you will get a poor rate. This weekend, the Post Office is offering only YTL21. Just take clean Bank of England notes and change a little at your arrival airport for immediate needs. Once at your destination, shop around for the best currency deal; as anywhere in the world, given that some places charge commission and some don’t, the sensible question to compare rates is “How many lira will you give me for £50?”
Having said that, you probably won’t need too much local cash. I was surprised to see how well contactless payment has caught on, at least in the main tourist areas. If you are paying with a credit card such as Halifax Clarity, that does not add a transaction fee.
Q I am supposed to be in Spain right now. I was booked to fly from London Gatwick to Malaga. I use an Irish passport card to travel to and within the EU. But the airline refused to allow me on the flight because it said my documentation was not valid for travel to Italy. What can I do?
Name supplied
A The Irish passport card is an excellent concept – so much so that, before Brexit, there was a campaign for the UK to introduce something similar. It resembles an ID card similar to those issued by European Union nations, but with some key differences. It is not compulsory. Nor is it an alternative to a passport: you must have an Irish passport to obtain one. So why would citizens of Ireland choose to pay the €35 (£31) fee? The government in Dublin says it allows people to travel within Europe while their passport is with an embassy as part of a visa application process, and “will also provide a useful backup travel document within Europe in the event that someone loses their passport while travelling”. In that sense it is like a second UK passport, only cheaper and more portable.
The passport card can be used for travel within the European Union, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. Assuming your passport card is in date (it is valid until its expiry date), there is no reason why airline ground staff should refuse it. The best response in those most unfortunate circumstances is immediately to book on a different airline (Gatwick-Malaga has up to 10 flights a day, on five carriers) and travel as soon as possible after your missed flight.
The airline that refused to take you will need to pay for the new flight as well as any necessary meal or hotel costs – and also give you compensation of £350 under European air passengers’ rights rules for wrongly denying you boarding. This wholly unnecessary expenditure will, I hope, persuade the airline to remind its ground staff about the validity of the Irish passport card. Meanwhile, UK residents who qualify for Irish passports may wish to consider obtaining a passport card as well.
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