As the main summer season for Scandinavia gets under way, British travellers holding passports valid for travel to Denmark may be turned away – because the nation insists on rules that are tougher than the Schengen area, to which it belongs.
The millions of British travellers who have passports valid for longer than 10 years run the risk of being refused entry to Denmark even if their documents comply with EU rules.
The Boris Johnson government negotiated for UK citizens to become “third-country nationals” following the Brexit vote. As a result, British passports must pass two tests for travel to the European Union and wider Schengen area:
- Under 10 years old on the day of arrival to the Schengen area
- At least three months remaining on the intended day of departure
As the European Commission has repeatedly confirmed to The Independent, these rules are independent of each other.
For example, a British traveller with a passport issued on 1 July 2015 and valid to 1 April 2026 could travel to a Schengen area nation up to 30 June 2025 for a stay of up to 90 days (the maximum allowed for third-country nationals).
But after The Independent investigated the case of a passenger who was turned away from the Norwegian airline from London Gatwick to Copenhagen even though her papers were in order, it has emerged that Denmark is applying its own set of rules. The authorities are combining the two validity rules, even though that is incorrect.
Copenhagen police insist that a British passport must “be no older than nine years and nine months from the date of issuance”.
They say: “Schengen also does not recognise extensions of 10-year passports. Once the document is nine years and nine months old from the date of issuance, it is invalid.”
As The Independent has repeatedly pointed out to the Danish authorities, such a policy contravenes the Schengen area rules.
A spokesperson for the European Commission in Brussels confirmed: “Denmark is bound by the relevant Schengen rules and the interpretation given in the Practical Handbook for Border Guards like any other Schengen State.”
The handbook says a passport “must have been issued within the previous 10 years”. It stresses: “The requirement that the travel document must have been issued within the previous ten years must be fulfilled at the day of entry (but not necessarily during the stay), provided that its validity extends until the end of the stay plus three months.”
Norwegian, the airline, continues to turn away British passengers from flights to Denmark whose passports are valid but which contravene the rules confected by the Danish authorities.
The carrier links London Gatwick and Edinburgh with Copenhagen.
Last month, police in Norway confirmed that they had wrongly deported a British tourist because border officials misunderstood the rules. The visitor was detained for three hours and put on a flight back to Edinburgh the following morning.
A spokesperson for Norwegian said: “We regret the disruption to our passengers due to inconsistent interpretation of Schengen passport rules by the Nordic countries.
“As an airline, we must comply with local border control directives, which are currently unclear. We have urged the authorities to provide clear, unified guidance to airlines, in order to prevent further passenger issues and avoid penalties for our company.”
Any British traveller whose passport is valid but over nine years and nine months can simply cross to Denmark from Germany or Sweden to avoid the usual border checks.
