Martin Lewis 'three crucial alerts' summer holidays warning
In his ITV show, he told viewers: "Border control and flight checks are getting more stringent. There's an immigration issue going on around the world, and that means countries are getting stricter on who they let in. So you need to be more diligent with your checks."
'My daughter wasn't allowed to board the plane even though she had 7mths left on her passport' – the two key checks to ensure this doesn't happen to you (while it differs per country, these'll generally keep you safe)
Courtesy of ITV Martin Lewis Money Show, watch the full show… pic.twitter.com/WsKD8M614Z
— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) May 22, 2025
Martin Lewis' three crucial travel checks
"I've got three crucial alerts for you," he said.
"First of all, two checks everybody needs to do on their passport now. These are, very importantly, this is about the day that you will enter the country.
The first check is on the day you enter the country, are there less than six months left on your passport? Or if you're going to the EU less than three months left? If so, that's a big problem.
But there's another rule, even if you had seven months, and this is what I think may have happened in Mary's daughter's case, seven months left on your passport. If your passport is over 10 years old, many countries won't let you in. Now, how could it be over 10 years old? Because it used to be that when you renewed, if you had any spare time on your old passport, they could add that on top, so you might have 10 years, 10 months, and that can bar you too.
So you need to do both of those checks.
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"Now, if you have done those checks, if there's yes to either of those, then the safest thing is to renew before you go. It takes three weeks, typically, to get a new passport, and it's cheaper to do it online. But let me be honest, I'm hearing so many cases like this.
"If I was seven, eight or nine months away, and the rule was six months, I'd probably pay safe and get a new passport first anyway, so that I've got more on it, because it's being so tricky, and it's very similar.
"If you're traveling to the USA or passing through the USA, you need to sort your ESTA now there is heightened border security in the States. If you don't have this as your sort of online visa, if you like, without one, People are being denied entry. You need to be careful."
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Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
Russian tourists flock back to Europe
Russian tourists are returning to Europe in growing numbers, despite the war in Ukraine, with France, Italy and Spain their favoured holiday destinations. The three travel hotspots are all Nato and EU members and have imposed sanctions on Moscow. Hotel stays by Russians in Italy and France surged by more than 19 per cent in the past year, which Ukrainian diplomats branded 'disturbing' and a security risk. But France, which spearheads the 'coalition of the willing' nations supporting Ukraine with Britain, defends keeping borders open to rich Russian tourists, as does Italy. The trend was revealed by Telegraph analysis of data on hotel room stays and rentals on websites such as and Airbnb, and of visas issued to the EU's Schengen free-movement zone. Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, warned that ignoring the returning Russians would be 'short-sighted' and dangerous. He told the Telegraph: 'In the fourth year of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, it is extremely surprising to see statistics showing an increase in the number of visas issued to Russian citizens and a growth in tourist traffic from Russia to EU countries. 'We know that Russian society overwhelmingly supports the war. Moreover, it prefers to think that Russia is at war with the West and not with Ukraine, where the Russian army commits war crimes on massive scale.' He added: 'With increasing number of Russia's cyberattacks against EU member states, acts of sabotage and all sort of hybrid activities aimed at undermining European democracies, it is disturbing that Russian citizens can easily enjoy the benefits of travelling to Europe. 'Continuing to ignore this reality is short-sighted. It's a matter of European security.' Fires in warehouses known to be part of logistical supply chains have taken place across Europe, including in Britain, while there have also been reports of sabotaged train tracks. In the past, Russian spies posing as diplomats would be linked to these incidents, but since the 2018 poisoning of the Skripals, Moscow is known to also deploy agents on tourist visas. Stop EU visas for Russians Sir William Browder is an American-born English financier turned anti-Putin activist and campaigner. He urged France, Italy and Spain to stop issuing visas to Russians. 'Unless the Russians can demonstrate in a visa interview that they're opposed to the Putin regime, they shouldn't be allowed to come to Europe,' he said. European capitals have hit the Kremlin with waves of sanctions since Putin launched his illegal invasion in 2022. Both Britain and the EU closed their airspace to Russian airlines, triggering a drop in tourist numbers. There are still dozens of routes to Europe through Turkey, Georgia, Serbia and other countries. In order to get to Rome, for example, a Russian tourist would have to stop over in Turkey or the UAE and switch flights. The additional costs put the trip out of the reach of most ordinary Russians, but those that do make it to Europe also face difficulties because of the sanctions, which means their bank cards don't work. However, Istanbul's Ataturk airport is brimming with currency exchanges where Russians can swap roubles for euros to sustain their visits to Europe. 'There are many Russians who support the war, and particularly the Russians who have money,' Sir William said. 'What we absolutely don't want to do is allow these Russians to enjoy the privileges and resources of Europe, while at the same time they're supporting Putin's war efforts.' 'Europe should be open for people in the Russian opposition who are being persecuted, but no visa should be issued to Russian oligarchs or mini-garchs and others who support Putin, and I think we should err on the side of non visa issuance in that respect.' He said refusing visas would put pressure on Putin's regime and lessen the security risk posed by Russia's hybrid war against the West. Sanctions undermined Sir William said EU governments had to be consistent because if one country grants a Schengen visa, the supposed tourist can travel anywhere in the passport-free zone. Western governments have been reluctant to issue outright travel bans, except in the case of sanctioned individuals such as Putin's cronies and apparatchiks. In contrast, the Baltic nations and pro-Ukraine countries bordering Ukraine and Russia stopped issuing tourist visas to Russia or heavily restricted their numbers. Jan Lipavsky, foreign minister of the Czech Republic, accused those welcoming Russian holidaymakers of undermining the EU's sanctions against Moscow in return for wealthy tourists' cash. He told The Telegraph, 'It is deeply troubling to see some EU countries returning to business as usual with Russian tourists while Ukraine continues to suffer under brutal aggression. 'Czechia has taken a principled stance – we do not process any tourist visa applications and we believe this should be the standard across the European Union.' Mr Lipavsky said the numbers of tourists coming to the EU last year was 'totally excessive' and raised serious concerns 'not only from a security standpoint, but also from a moral one'. He said, 'At such volumes, we cannot rule out the possibility that individuals complicit in war crimes are among those vacationing in our resorts. That is unacceptable.' He added, 'I also see that some countries have a self-interested motive – they want the income from Russian tourism. It's not just about visa fees; it's about money spent on hotels, shopping, tickets and so on. Russians are known to spend a lot. 'This undermines the credibility of our sanctions regime and sends a confusing message about our values.' Lifeline for dissidents Andrei Soldatov is a senior fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank and a Russian investigative journalist specialising in the activities of the Kremlin's secret services. He said the visas were valuable for dissidents and families that wanted to visit them abroad. He said, 'it is a problem which doesn't have a simple solution. These are also the countries which help people with anti-Kremlin views move out. 'To make it safe for these people one needs to hide their applications in a stream of other applications. One cannot really expect a Russian dissident to come to a foreign embassy for a 'dissident visa', given the high level of repression in the country.' Popular locations Across the EU, visitor numbers are just a tenth of what they were in 2019, before the pandemic and the invasion, but this varies substantially across the bloc. In 2024, just six EU countries saw an increase in guest nights booked by Russians via websites such as Airbnb, according to figures from Eurostat. Italy saw the largest increase of 18.9 per cent, with 321,678 guest nights across the year, the highest in Europe. France remains the third most popular location for Russian tourists with 203,072 guest nights per year, which is an increase of 7.8 per cent - the fourth highest spike in Europe. Spain is second at 259,068 guest nights, down 3.6 per cent from the previous year, according to the figures obtained from the EU's statistics agency. There was a rise of 13 per cent in the number of nights booked by Russians in Hungary, which has a government that is notoriously soft on Putin. The UK, whose data differs slightly from the EU's, would rank seventh on the list for Russia visitors after Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus. Unlike France and Italy, Britain saw its visitor numbers fall by around 1.3 per cent year-on-year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Other statistics, which look at nights across hotels rather than Airbnb-style websites, suggest that France is hosting 27 per cent of the level it was in 2019, compared to just 9.8 per cent in the United Kingdom. The UK has always required Russian tourists to apply for visas, including when it was part of the EU. It never joined Schengen. Schengen members also require that Russians obtain visas. There was an agreement, which made it faster and cheaper to obtain those tourist visas to enter the EU but it was suspended after Putin invaded Ukraine. Analysis of Schengen area visas also showed that Italy and France were leading the tourism rapprochement with Russia. Italy issued 152,254 Schengen area visas at its two Russian consulates last year, which was almost 19,000 more than in 2023. France issued a total of 123, 890, according to European Commission figures, 25,000 more than the year before. Spain issued 111,527, an increase of 15,000. Figures first reported by the EU Observer website showed a rebound in Schengen visas for Russians with 552,630 issued in total last year, an increase of nine per cent. Greece issued 59,703 visas and Hungary 23,382. Rome and Paris unrepentant 'Italy continues to regularly issue visas to Russian tourists who meet our requirements,' A spokesman for Antonio Tajani, the Italian minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister, said. 'Our opposition is to the Russian army's military operations in Ukraine, not to the Russian people.' The Elysée was presented with the statistics but did not respond to requests for comment. France has previously defended issuing visas to Russians. 'People-to-people relations and cultural ties can play a positive role in fostering mutual understanding and dialogue between populations,' the French foreign affairs ministry told EU Observer. 'We work hard at maintaining a differentiation between the regime responsible for the war and the population, its civil society, and the opposition,' it said. 'It is essential to maintain this window, to enable Russian society to get access to a plurality of reliable sources of information.' The British and Spanish government were asked for comment. The European Commission said they could not comment, despite being given 72 hours notice, because it was summer. Eurostat, the EU's statistics body, has collected data on the number of guest nights spent in 'collaborative economy platforms', which includes sites such as Airbnb and Expedia since 2018. The UK's Office for National Statistics has collected similar data since mid-2023, meaning pre-invasion figures are not available and there might be minor methodological differences between the two bodies. Data on broader hotel stays across Europe have not been updated for the entirety of Europe in 2024.
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Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Turkey wildfires: Popular tourist resort faces 'apocalyptic' scenes as locals flee homes
Bursa, in Turkey, has been surrounded by wildfires forcing almost 2,000 people to flee their homes, while a firefighter has died battling the blazes - which have been raging since late June Raging wildfires are threatening another popular tourist resort in Turkey. Bursa - a favourite for holidaying Brits - was surrounded by blazes - forcing more than 1,500 people to flee homes. Dozens of severe wildfires have hit the country daily since late June, with the government declaring two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, disaster areas on Friday. Bursa governor's office said in a statement on Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned. A firefighter died from a heart attack while on the job, the city's mayor, Mustafa Bozbey, said in a statement, adding that the flames had scorched 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) around the city. Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as 'an apocalypse.' It marks the latest city to be hit by deadly blazes this summer - as destinations in Greece and Cyprus have also fallen victim to aggressive wildfires amid unseasonably high temperatures. By Sunday morning, lessening winds brought some respite to firefighters, who continued efforts to battle the flames. But TV footage revealed an ashen landscape where farms and pine forests had earlier stood. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said fire crews across the country confronted 84 separate blazes on Saturday. The country's northwest was under the greatest threat, including Karabuk, where wildfires have burned since Tuesday, he said. Unseasonally high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds have been fuelling the wildfires. The General Directorate of Meteorology said Turkey recorded its highest ever temperature of 50.5 degrees Celsius in the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. The highest temperatures for July were seen in 132 other locations, it said. Fourteen people have died in recent weeks, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers killed on Wednesday in a fire in Eskisehir in western Turkey. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Saturday that prosecutors had investigated fires in 33 provinces since June 26, and that legal action had been taken against 97 suspects. On Bulgaria's southern borders with Greece and Turkey, as well as the western Serbian frontier, firefighters battled wildfires as the government declared the worst-hit provinces disaster zones. Residents across nearly half the country were issued with a code red warning, the highest level. National Fire Service chief Alexander Djartov told reporters that 236 wildfires were burning, many fanned by strong winds. The government had asked EU partners for help, he added, and aircraft were expected from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Hungary and Sweden later Sunday. In the southwestern Strumyani region, overnight blazes forced firefighters to retreat. They were reinforced on Sunday by soldiers. Dozens of people fled their homes in the western Tran region as flames threatened villages near the Serbian border. Parts of Athens in Greece have been evacuated after more than 50 wildfires broke out in 24 hours. People living in the suburb of Kryoneri, around 12.5 miles (20 km) northeast of the Greek capital, were told to move to safe areas on Saturday. At least five people, most of them elderly with respiratory problems, have been treated in hospital for burns or smoke inhalation.
