7

My passport was issued on 16 July 2007 and will expire on 05 May 2018. I have applied for a Schengen visa through the Netherlands and it was approved. After I booked my ticket I came across a condition that the travel document should be issued within the last 10 years and I am planning to travel on 15 July 2017.

Will I have any issue at the border control because my passport practically completed 10 years?

Improve this question
9
  • 1
    Call the ambassy/consulate of the country you wish to visit and tell them about your situation and if you are going to be blocked or not. If I were you I would change passports... Because your passport is supposed to be valid until 6month after your return date.
    – MopMop
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 6:54
  • thanks for your reply but my passport will be valid for 9 months after my return date , but the issue is in the 10 years old rule for the passport. unfortunately i am calling the embassy but no answer.
    – SOHAIR
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 7:00
  • In order to apply for a visa, you need: a passport with at least two empty pages. The passport should have been issued within the last 10 years. The passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date on which you intend to leave the Schengen territory, or, in the case of multiple journeys, the date on which you intend to leave after the last stay. - from European Commission. This is very clear and needs no further explanation.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 8:39
  • 1
    @PaulofOsawatomie Actually, that's an interesting corner case. The real question is not applying for a visa, but the rules for entry. Those are not defined in the same regulation. Your source understandably does not dwell on these details but that's why the question is not trivial.
    – Relaxed
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 9:58
  • 1
    @Neusser I detailed that in my answer, I don't disagree but you have to read all these rules very carefully to reach the right conclusion. By contrast, most passports are valid for ten years and would therefore also be less than ten years old when leaving, which makes the details irrelevant. That's why it's a corner case and far from obvious. Treating all this casually can all too easily lead to a mistake. Case in point: It's not the day of applying for the visa that's relevant, but the day of entry.
    – Relaxed
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 13:56

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
11

If you read the rule strictly, on July 15, your passport appears to meet all the requirements:

  • It's been issued in the last ten years (by a single day, but still).
  • It will be valid for more than three months after your departure.

Nowhere does it say that the two requirements should somehow be read conjointly or that the less-than-10-year-old requirement should apply for the whole stay (as opposed to the day of entry). At the same time, with many passports expiring after 10 years anyway, it's tempting to conclude that there is actually a requirement to hold a passport that would still be less than ten years old three months after leaving.

So while there are good reasons to think that you fulfil all the requirements, I think there is a moderate risk that a border guard might mistakenly think otherwise and I would not want to get in an argument about this stuff. Note that if you can get a new passport before you travel, it's perfectly fine to use it together with the visa in the old passport.

Improve this answer
9

I have already travelled with my old passport and nobody questioned me and I was allowed to enter the country without any issue.

Improve this answer
2
  • Hi, it is nice of you to come back with your experience to this forum. However as this is a Q&A site, IMO you should consider posting your experience as a comment to @Relaxed's existing excellent answer rather than as a standalone answer.
    – RedBaron
    Commented Aug 6, 2017 at 7:41
  • 8
    I do not agree with @RedBaron. A stand alone answer with your experience is good, happens often on this site.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Aug 6, 2017 at 8:52

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .