What's changed
Passport and entry rules change often. Every rule on this site is checked against GOV.UK foreign travel advice, and we record each update here.
✓ Last checked: every destination compared with GOV.UK on 21 October 2026 at 11:50pm.
Updates from GOV.UK entry requirements Automatic update
- Turkmenistan: E-visas introduced on 1 October 2026 for tourists and conference visitors, arranged through a sponsor and replacing the letter of invitation process.
Security update and a move to a new server
- We've moved UK Passport Checker to a new, dedicated server with the latest security updates.
- This includes the fix for "PHP2Shell", two serious flaws in PHP (the software that runs many websites) announced on 21 October. We updated as soon as the fix was released.
- We checked our systems and found no sign that anyone had accessed them. Your passport reminders, account and saved trips are all as you left them, and you don't need to do anything.
- The website address, your reminder emails and the checker all work exactly as before.
Updates from GOV.UK entry requirements Automatic update
- Tanzania: All travellers must now fill out the Travellers Health Surveillance Form before departing or on arrival, and Ebola screening now applies at all points of entry.
GOV.UK entry requirement updates: Kenya, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Solomon Islands
- Passport validity rules are unchanged for all four, so checker results stay the same.
- Kenya: from 5 October 2026 most visitors must buy Kenyan government travel health insurance, usually with the eTA. Your own travel insurance does not replace it.
- Kazakhstan: a new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is recommended now and expected to become mandatory for visa-free visitors from November 2026.
- Thailand: the limit of two visa-free tourist entries a year applies to land-border crossings and does not generally apply if you fly in.
- Solomon Islands: tourists must now apply online for a tourist visa before travelling (100 US dollars). A visa on arrival is no longer guaranteed.
- Tanzania: rechecked after a GOV.UK update on mandatory travel insurance; our guidance already covered it.
142 more destinations added — now 227
- Every country and territory with GOV.UK foreign travel advice now has its own passport rule page and is in the checker.
- New regions include Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Pacific islands, the Caribbean and British Overseas Territories.
- Where GOV.UK counts validity from a visa date we can't know (for example Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Russia), the checker uses the safer test and explains this.
- Pages for countries where the FCDO advises against all or some travel show that warning at the top.
34 more destinations added — now 85
- Added Gibraltar, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City.
- Added Brazil, Cuba, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina and Chile.
- Added China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Seychelles and Tanzania.
- Gibraltar: from 15 July 2026 its short-stay entry rules align with Schengen — passport issued within 10 years and valid 3 months after you leave Gibraltar or the Schengen area.
Passport checker: clearer results and family checks
- Results now show every rule we checked, the exact dates and how many days you have to spare.
- New "renew by" date and the last arrival date your passport works for.
- Check several passports at once for family trips.
- The checker now covers every destination on the site.
Rule changes found and corrected
- Thailand: since 15 September 2026, visa-free visits are up to 30 days for tourism only (previously 60 days).
- Egypt: since 1 August 2026, Cairo airport also sells digital visas on arrival by card (36 US dollars).
- Ireland: some airlines and ferry operators now accept only a passport as ID.
- ETIAS: no start date has been confirmed; 2027 is now likely.
- Emergency Travel Document fee updated to £125.
- UK passport fees updated to the 8 April 2026 rates (adult online renewal £102).
New guides
- Passport problems and urgent help: urgent, lost, expired, damaged, name change, child passports and renewing.
- Winter and Christmas travel guides, and the best Christmas markets in Europe 2026.
How we keep rules up to date
Several times a day, our system compares the GOV.UK entry requirements for every destination with the version we last reviewed. When GOV.UK changes something like a visa, travel authorisation or insurance requirement, the guidance on that page is updated automatically from GOV.UK's own wording and recorded here. Changes to the passport validity rules our checker uses are always reviewed by a person before they go live, and the page shows a caution until then. If you spot something that looks out of date, please tell us. UK Passport Checker is an independent guide and is not part of HM Passport Office or the FCDO.