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Thousands of Brits are set to jet off on holiday in the coming months, but you should be aware of a small passport mistake that could ruin your trip. You could even be barred from boarding your flight.
We all know that our passports must be valid and have enough time left before they expire. This usually means between three and six months left until they expire in order to travel to Europe.
However, if your passport is in date you may think that nothing can go wrong. Well, one bloke discovered that’s not true when he was unable to travel to his friend’s wedding in Bali.
READ MORE: Brits warned to renew passports now if they want them in time for summer
Matt Vandenberg, 29, was travelling from Sydney to the Indonesian island and was able to board his 6am Jetstar flight. However, his trip became a nightmare at Indonesian customs.
Posting on Twitter, Matt said: "One of my best mates is getting married on Friday in Bali, so obviously all the lads and I have flown over. I take the 6am flight out, Jetstar – everyone well behaved, staff were great.
"So I arrive at DPS, pay my visa, present my passport, get brought over to the immigration office who alerts me I have a 1cm tear on my passport page. To be fair, he's correct (I had no idea until he bent it all the way back, and it stood out. You couldn't see it any other way.)
"Get brought into an office to be told that my passports tear isn't acceptable and I won't be allowed into the country – and my passport will be confiscated until I get on a flight home tonight."
Matt claims that he "didn’t dispute" that there was a tear. However, he says it wasn’t noticeable until you bent the passport so immigration at Sydney likely didn’t spot it.
He then had to spend 12 hours at the airport before being forced to take the next flight home.
Matt says that the airport staff were friendly despite the situation. But, he was left about £800 down after the experience.
He noted: "I've had two airport police by my side the whole day – to be fair they are the nicest people you could have stuck by my side, feel very very very sorry for me – rules are rules. So flying home tonight and I have an emergency meeting tomorrow about my passport tomorrow morning, so hopefully can get a new one and get back over.
"Probably a good warning for people travelling to Indonesia – they do not mess around!"
On Twitter, people in the comments were gobsmacked by his experience. Many worried about their own travel plans.
One person said: "I’m flying to Bali in a few weeks. About to go and check the state of my passport!"
Luckily, all's well that ends well as Matt was ultimately able to get an emergency passport and travel back to Bali to make it in time for the wedding.
Matt also added that customs apparently turn away "a couple of hundred a day" due to the ruthless passport rules. So always make sure your passport is undamaged as the rule applies to Brits as well as Australians. He’s also not the first person to report being turned away from Bali due to a passport issue.
Last year, a woman warned fellow travellers to check their passports after a small issue meant she was prevented from boarding her flight. Bronte Gossling was trying to fly from Sydney, Australia to Bali for a tropical holiday now that the country has reopened its borders.
But, she was told she would not be allowed to board the flight at the desk – because her passport was too mouldy! Having spent £2,200 on flights, an all-inclusive hotel and Covid tests she was devastated to be barred from her Jetstar flight.
- Holidays
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