Simon Calder answers your travel questions, from passport problems to safety concerns

Our travel correspondent on passport validity for British travellers to Europe, the Cuba-US tangle and whether the Bahamas is a good choice for July

Long view: Panorama from the top of the Eiffel Tower, which is customer-friendly in terms of name changes (Simon Calder)

Looking to escape the January blues and plan your next getaway? The Independent’s travel correspondent is on hand to tackle all your burning queries.

Passport problems

Q: I’m a classical singer, booked to be working in Denmark from 20 March to 1 June. Then briefly back and off to Brussels for two stints: 7-25 June and 16 August-30 September.

I have work visas for these engagements. Can I book a holiday in Italy between the Belgian dates, or will the 90/180-day rule scupper any chance of a European holiday?

Graham B

A: Congratulations on these excellent gigs. As you apply for these work permits, I trust you are celebrating the many benefits of Brexit – such as blue passports and distances in the Dartford Tunnel now appearing in Imperial rather than metric measures – and agree that it was all worthwhile.

The UK asked to be subject to a rule limiting stays in the European Union and wider Schengen Area to 90 days in any 180: the 90/180-day rule.

My understanding is this: when you travel to and from a Schengen Area member state on a visa-supported trip, your 90/180 allowance is unaffected. You will be stamped in and out of Denmark which you can ascribe to the work visa. The same will apply for Belgium and back (if on Eurostar, it will happen at London St Pancras through French controls).

Your 90/180 count should remain at zero, and in the unlikely event that someone picks it up, you can explain the full circumstances.

If I am wrong, you will see the 90-day limit is reached at the end of your first Brussels trip. You will be free to travel only from 1 October (at which point you will be at liberty to stay away for 10 weeks, since your first trip will be steadily erased).

In your position, I would try to get an answer from the Danish consulate in advance. Or, indeed, obtain a second passport – which a professional musician like you surely needs. I will be writing more on these shortly.

Q: I have read many articles about passport dates, but I am still baffled. My passport runs from August 2013 to January 2024. For European Union purposes, then, it should be valid only until August 2023.

Going on a cruise to Norway in June this year and I believe you need three months date after return from holiday. Will my current passport suffice?

“Saltpot”

A: I am concerned that there should be any issue (and I hope that is not because someone in the travel industry told you there could be).

You don’t mention the exact dates. So ket us assume your passport was issued on 1 August 2013 and expires on 1 January 2024.

You can use it for travel to the European Union up to 31 July 2023 (or possibly the day after – the rules are cloudy) and stay up to 1 October 2023 (three months before it expires). More here. I hope you have a great trip.

Q: I am due to travel to Turkey on 13 May 2023. My passport issue date is 2 September 2013 and it is due to expire on 2 June 2024. Am I OK to travel on this passport or do I need to renew?

I have seen that you have to have 150 days left on your passport to visit Turkey but not sure if they go off the issue date or the expiry date?

Caz S

A: The expiry date is the only date that matters to everyone except the European Union/wider Schengen Area.

I calculate you can enter Turkey up to early January 2024.

May is an ideal month to be in Turkey, and I hope you have a great trip.

Q: I went to Lanzarote in October but my passport was not stamped on entry or exit. I was directed to an eGate along with the rest of the planeload. But after the eGate there was no booth to stamp the passport. What went wrong and could I be penalised?

Mike G

A: The fact that you were not stamped in or out might mean that the days have not been counted in either direction, in which case there will be no impact on your “90/180” day allowance. You will effectively have been given a bonus stay.

But supposing your arrival was registered but not your departure. After this oversight, a frontier official could challenge your apparent overstay.

If you are arriving from the UK, though, officials are likely to acknowledge that a mistake has been made. Supporting evidence such as a boarding pass showing a flight from Spain to Britain could be useful to support your version of events.

US controls

Q: In November you said anyone who has travelled to Cuba since 2011 does not qualify for an Esta. You mentioned that it was expected to be changed to 2021 soon. Do you have any further information on this?

Sam Wood

A: First the background: Donald Trump’s final act against Cuba as US president took place in January 2021.

The outgoing US leader placed the island on Washington DC’s list of “state sponsors of terrorism” (SST) alongside Iran, North Korea and Syria. His successor, Joe Biden, has left this rather nonsensical designation in place.

As a result, the US State Department insists, British visitors to America who have visited Cuba since 1 March 2011 cannot use the swift, cheap and relatively easy Esta system for permission to visit the US.

Instead they must spend $160 (£132) on a full visa – and attend an interview at the US Embassy in London or the Consulate-General in Belfast, for which appointments are hard to obtain.

Confusion has reigned, with several leading travel firms insisting the backdated sanctions apply only from the “designation date”, 12 January 2021. Many travellers with evidence of a visit to Cuba in their passport before that date have reported that they have been allowed to enter the US without a problem.

Anecdotally, US Customs & Border Protection officers are turning a blind eye on some occasions. But this cannot be relied upon.

The State Department stipulates: “Any visit to an SST on or after March 1, 2011, even if the country was designated yesterday, renders the applicant ineligible for Esta.”

You might not even get on the plane with a Cuba stamp in your passport.

Some passengers have been turned away from airports because they are regarded by the airlines as inadmissible to the US.

In informal discussions with officials late last year, I was given the strong indication that an imminent adjustment would be made to the policy to make the Esta ban retrospective only as far as 12 January 2021.

But it hasn’t happened. Until it does, all I can do is repeat the US State Department’s insistence and note that if there is no evidence in a current passport of a visit to Cuba, it is difficult to see how the Americans would know a traveller had ever been to the island.

Q: If I visit Turkey in April this year, will it affect my Esta application when I visit the US and Canada in June this year?

Sarah

A: No, the only countries of concern for the government in Washington DC at present are Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria. For Canada you will need an eTA in addition to the US Esta.

Name change

Q: I have a trip booked in January to Paris with my 13-year-old son for his birthday, out on Eurostar and back on British Airways.

Over Christmas I fell skiing and tore my knee ligaments so I can’t travel. I tried to change my ticket details to my husband so he could take our son. Eurostar was lovely, £15 change fee quick phone call, all sorted no fuss. The Eiffel Tower changed the name on my ticket with no charge after I provided a copy of the medical report.

I then called BA, which refused a name change, and had to buy a new ticket for husband (another £204) during a call which took four hours in total.

BA told me airlines are forbidden from transferring tickets to another name due to Iata rules. The customer service agent on Twitter told me in a DM regarding a name change (even for a fee): “This isn’t something within our choice. We are governed by Iata, we have to stick to certain rules enforced by them and one is tickets being non transferrable.”

“Joycey Cat”

A: Sorry to hear about your knee, and I hope you are making a swift recovery.

You say: “BA told me that airlines (implying all airlines) are forbidden from transferring tickets to another name due to Iata rules.” Really? British Airways can do whatever it wishes. Along with many other airlines, it will make amendments to passenger names that are misspelt.

Most carriers including BA have a commercial policy of not allowing free name changes – otherwise I would buy up loads of tickets for Friday evening flights from London to Frankfurt when they go on sale at £50 each and sell them on for four times as much near to departure.

British Airways and other airlines do allow, at their sole discretion, for vouchers to be issued for passengers who cannot travel due to a health event. But name changes are not allowed – so if you paid £60 for your original ticket, you would still need to pay £204 for the rebooking for your husband.

Passport strike

Q: I’m scheduled to arrive at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 6.30am on Tuesday 1 February from Barbados. This is the day of a UK Border Force strike. How might this affected  action. How might this affect leaving airport: are there likely to be serious delays or will passengers just walk through unchecked?

Simon Curtis

A: The PCS union national executive committee has a called a one-day strike on 1 February across a large number of government agencies, including UK Border Force. But If the eight days of stoppages at Heathrow – and five other airports – from 23 to 31 December are anything to go by, the strike by members of the PCS union who work for Border Force is unlikely to affect your journey.

The busiest day of the winter so far at many British airports, Friday 23 December, coincided with the start of industrial action by UK Border Force staff at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff airports. No hold-ups were reported.

Island risks

Q: How safe is Sri Lanka for tourism at the moment?

Tim

A: I would happily travel there tomorrow, but minimising the amount of road travel; fortunately there are extensive (and safer) train options.

I imagine your concern is over the growing unrest about the dismal economic straits in which Sri Lanka finds itself.

The Foreign Office warns: “Sri Lanka is experiencing a severe economic crisis which has led to shortages of basic necessities including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food. The major shortage of fuel (diesel and petrol) is affecting transport, businesses, and emergency services.

“Hospitals and other medical services such as ambulances may be affected by shortages. There are daily power cuts due to electricity rationing.

“Protests about the economic situation have led to violence against peaceful protesters in recent months, resulting in injuries and loss of life.

“Protests, demonstrations, roadblocks and violent unrest could occur at short notice. Curfews and emergency regulations may also be imposed. You should be vigilant, avoid large gatherings and keep up to date with developments.”

Bahamas bound?

Q: I am considering returning to the Bahamas: Paradise Island, where we have been before. But the only time we can go is early July which is also early hurricane season.

My question is: am I mad? Have you ever been to the Caribbean at this time of the year or is it just too wet, windy and potentially stormy?

Josie 1970

A: Goodness. I can’t think of anything that would persuade me to be in the Bahamas in July: even if you avoid hurricanes, you are still in for hot, humid and rainy weather. I have been to the Caribbean (Cuba and Mexico’s Yucatan coast), plus central Florida, in July and it was uncomfortable as well as stormy.

In July there are many European alternatives that are much closer and more agreeable – for example the island off the west coast of France, or along the shore of Croatia.