Commonwealth and Development Office

A NEW passport rule introduced earlier this year has already caught out a number of families.

As many as 1.2million people can no longer use their foreign passport to enter the country.

These passport rules came into play in February and mean that British nationals have to carry a valid British passport to return to the UK.

They can no longer use their foreign passport to enter the country.

An alternative is to have a “certificate of entitlement” costing £589.

Despite being in place for five months, the new rules have been catching people out.

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In one case, a British student was stuck in Rome and missed six weeks of school – she was unable to return home for over a month.

The 15-year-old girl had been visiting her grandmother in Italy in April of this year.

When it was time to return home, she was turned away at the airport because she didn’t have a valid British passport.

The girl’s father sought help from the Home Office and the Foreign Office.

He told The Guardian: “The embassy, the Home Office and the Foreign Office bounced us from one to another.

“They are playing with people’s lives, a child’s education. It is loathsome.”

Eventually, she was issued with an emergency travel document.

In another case, one British woman was caught out when she was trying to travel from Copenhagen to Manchester with her two children.

Colette Bjorn-Alderson, who has lived in the UK for 28 years, had been in the Danish country since April, but was returning to the UK with her six-week- old and 23-month-old for a wedding.

However, her two children only had Danish passports which meant they didn’t have valid travel documents for returning to the UK.

She told The Times that she felt “unwelcome in my own country” after being turned away from the flight.

Colette sent photocopies of her documents to the Home Office – but ultimately the decision was made that the family could not fly.

In June, dad-of-two, Kyle Harris, was refused boarding onto his flight from Kefalonia in Greece back to the UK due to only having an American passport.

The 39-year-old had been on holiday with his wife and two sons and the family has had to extend their time away as a result.

AS WILDFIRES continue to spread across France and Spain major travel advice has been issued for tourists heading abroad for the summer.

Thousands of excited Brits are gearing up to go on holiday in the coming days but “monster” flames tearing across Europe are beginning to cast doubt over travel plans.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has urged Brit holidaymakers to take care when travelling to the south-west of France where the two main wildfires are spreading.

The Gironde wildfire has been scorching huge swathes of land as it continues to grow as the Biscarrosse fires also rage on.

The FCDO has told travellers to follow instructions and updates from local authorities and emergency services at all times and to call 112 for the emergency services if people are in danger.

They make it clear that “no travel can be guaranteed safe” and that precautions must be taken ahead of time.

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Having appropriate travel insurance is also a necessity if you want a refund.

Experts say if you’ve booked a package holiday and the company you’ve booked with cancels because of wildfires, you should be offered a refund or have alternative arrangements offered to you.

If you’ve booked your flights and accommodation separately, you will need to speak to your airline and the company you booked your hotel, apartment or villa with separately to see if they will refund you.

Make sure to keep a record of any official warnings, cancellation notices, emails from your airline and screenshots of travel advice.

Similar guidance has been issued for people heading to Spain with the UK government advising people to avoid travelling through the two main affected areas of Madrid and Avila.

Both Spanish regions are already under a national emergency as thousands of hectares of land are being ravaged by multiple fires.

French officials have also urged holidaymakers to stay away from wildfire zones and told tourists already in active areas to pack their bags and make plans to leave.

Sophie Brocas, the prefect for Nouvelle-Aquitaine, said: “We urge tourists not to come to this region, at least until the situation is under control.

“I encourage tourists who are already here to consider another destination.”

Authorities have already evacuated campsites, tourist accommodation and some residential areas across the south-west.

French President Emmanuel Macron is due to convene a crisis meeting later today to discuss the wildfires as they near the tourist city of Bordeaux.

Flames are now just seven miles away from the ancient French city centre with hundreds of thousands of people in Gironde already being evacuated from their homes.

Your rights if your holiday is cancelled due to wildfires

EXPERTS are warning any Brit families who have holidays booked to Spain or France to check the official advice, and make sure you are covered by your travel insurance.

Rhys Jones, travel insurance expert at Go.Compare, said the FCDO should always be the main place to check.

He said: “Wildfires can move quickly and cause serious disruption, so if you’re due to travel to an affected destination, the first thing to do is check the latest FCDO advice for that country and your specific resort or region.

“If they advise against travel, your holiday provider or travel insurer may be able to support you, depending on how you booked and what your policy includes.”

You should also check your travel insurance policy before you go to see what it covers.

“Some include cover for natural disasters under ‘catastrophe cover’, but this is not always included as standard and not every insurer will define wildfires in the same way,” Rhys added.

“Look at whether your policy covers cancellation, travel disruption, alternative accommodation, emergency medical treatment and repatriation, and contact the insurer directly if anything is unclear.”

He adds: “Don’t wait until you are in the middle of an emergency to understand your cover.

“Check your policy wording before you go, know your insurer’s emergency contact details, and make sure your documents are easy to access online and offline.”

Your travel insurance could help you get back any costs your accommodation provider or airline won’t refund you for, if it covers cancellation or “catastrophe”.

Sitting even closer to the fires is Bordeaux Airport with the hotel nearby being evacuated overnight.

Flights are yet to be impacted despite a cloud of smoke beginning to choke the city.

The latest update from Bordeaux Airport came on Sunday as they said: “The airport is currently operational and is doing everything it can to provide the region with all the necessary support in the ongoing fight against the fires. 

“Commercial flights are operating as normal.”

Anyone travelling should contact their holiday provider and airline before jetting off.

For information on the wildfires, the French Prefecture has opened a public information line from 9am to 5pm which can be accessed by calling +33 (0)9 70 80 90 40 (select option 1 for Gironde).

Across in Spain, temperatures are on track to reach above 40C – sparking concerns that the heat will only help fuel the wildfires.

Officials have said due to the volatile nature of fires, the situation is being reassessed day-by-day so tourists should continue to check the latest guidance.

The raging inferno around Madrid was described as being “at its peak” over the weekend and  “beyond the capacity” of firefighters to control.

A 15-YEAR-OLD girl was stranded in Rome and missed six weeks of school because of confusing new passport rules.

The new dual nationality rules meant that she was unable to return home for over a month.

The British girl had been visiting her grandmother in Italy in April of this year.

When it was time to return home, she was turned away at the airport because she didn’t have a valid British passport.

The new passport rules that came into play in February mean that British nationals have to carry a valid British passport to return to the UK – they can no longer use their foreign passport.

An alternative is to have a “certificate of entitlement” costing £589.

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Rowan Somerville, the father of the 15-year-old stranded in Rome, sought help from the Home Office and the Foreign Office.

But he told The Guardian: “The embassy, the Home Office and the Foreign Office bounced us from one to another.

“They are playing with people’s lives, a child’s education. It is loathsome.”

Rowan Somerville said that the Home Office couldn’t give his daughter a temporary passport because she didn’t have a British passport in the first place.

The girl’s school and local MP Joe Powell contacted the Home Office and the FCDO who eventually issued an emergency travel document.

Joe Powell said that “changes to Home Office rules resulted in her being stuck in Rome and missing six weeks of school.”

Joe Powell added: “Thankfully, we were able to help and she’s now at home and back in school, but unfortunately this was not an isolated case.”

A Home Office spokesperson told Sun Travel: “This individual was granted an Emergency Travel Document in May, enabling them to return to the UK.

“We also remained in contact regarding a passport application, and once the required information was received and checks were concluded, a passport was issued within eight days.

“Since 25 February 2026, all dual British citizens have needed to present either a valid British passport or Certificate of Entitlement when travelling to the UK.

“Without one, carriers cannot verify British citizenship, which may lead to delays or refused boarding.” were concluded, a passport was issued within eight days.”

There are thought to be as many as 1.2million people who can no longer use their foreign passport to enter the country.

Despite the rules being outlined on the Gov.uk website, they are continuing to catch people out.

In another case, a woman who has lived in the UK for 28 years, but had been staying in Copenhagen attempted to return to the UK with her six-week- old and 23-month-old for a friend’s wedding.

But the family was refused boarding because her two children only had Danish passports which meant they didn’t have valid travel documents for returning to the UK.