This is a post by author Stefano Bruno. Stefano is the station manager for Universal Aviation Italy – Milan-Linate, which has Fixed-Base Operator (FBO) and ground support locations at Rome (LIRA), Venice (LIPZ), Milan-Linate (LIML), and Milan-Malpensa (LIMC). Stefano is an expert on business aircraft operations in Italy. He can be contacted at stefanobruno@universalaviation.aero.

This business aviation blog post continues from our article last week, entitled “EU Regulatory Update: Passport Expiration Dates, Part 1 – Rule Changes.“

If your passport is about to expire, or will expire within 90 days of your intended departure from the EU, it’s important to secure a new passport prior to entry into the EU. There are, however, certain cases where close-to-expiration passports may be accepted by Schengen border authorities.

The following is an overview of what you need to know:

1. Visas in passports that are about to expire

If your Shengen visa is in a passport that will expire within 90 days of arrival there’s a provision that an old visa may be used with a new passport. It’s permissible, in our experience, for passengers to travel with a new passport but to still use the visa attached to the old passport. As this visa is normally pasted to the old passport, it will be necessary in this case to carry both the old (expired or close to expiry) and the new passport when entering the EU.

2. Presenting non-compliant passports

Third country nationals arriving in the EU with a passport lacking three month validity, from intended date of departure, may be denied entry to the EU.

3. Transiting with a non-compliant passport

A third country national may, under certain circumstances, be permitted to transit an EU Member State with a passport lacking the required three months remaining validity. If a third party national holds a residence permit, or a long-stay visa, he/she shall be authorized to enter the territory of the Member State for transit purposes – so that they may reach the territory of the Member State that issued the residence permit/long-stay visa. This, however, is conditional on their names not being on the national list of alerts of the Member State they are seeking to cross and this alert is accompanied by instructions to refuse entry or transit.

Conclusion

It’s recommended that general aviation (GA) operators read both EU 562/2006 and EU 610/2013 in order to better understand general and specific provisions related to movement of non-EU citizens across Shengen borders.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article or would like assistance planning your next trip to Italy, contact me at stefanobruno@universalaviation.aero.