IN the last few months, Brexit negotiations have dominated news headlines across the country.

It had originally been thought they would be completed by now, however, following Theresa May’s loss during a recent vote concerning a no-deal Brexit, it’s looking very likely the UK will leave the EU on March 30 with no deal.

This no-deal scenario will affect travel and, more specifically, passports.

It’s clear that, if a no-deal Brexit is the route taken by the UK Government, UK passport holders will need a minimum of six months left on their travel documents in order to visit the majority of Europe.

In an effort to simplify matters, the Government has created a new tool to help British travelers find out whether or not their passport will be valid after March 29 - the day the UK officially leaves the EU.

The new service ‘Check a Passport’ will require users to input their travel destination, date of travel, date of birth, date the passport was issued and date it expires among other information.

Glasgow Times:

It will then confirm whether the passport will be valid for the selected journey.

This will further complicate newly-renewed passports as any extra months added will likely not count towards the six-month requirement.

These new rules will apply to passports issued by the UK, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey, and will cover all journeys to the 26 countries in the Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

It is important to note these rules do not apply when travelling to Ireland and Bulgaria. Croatia, Cyprus and Romania are not in the Schengen area and have their own entry requirements.

Airlines have given warnings to passengers travelling after March 29 and are urging travellers to use this service to avoid disappointment on the day.