Travel question of the day: What are the passport rules for the Canary Islands?

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Tenerife is as much a part of the EU as Tyneside (Getty)

Q My partner and I are travelling to Tenerife in October. I have a good few years left on my passport. However, my partner’s runs out in January. I have heard a mixture of reports that you need six months remaining, but also I have heard you can travel up until the passport expiry date. Could you please help?

Jessica Dodds

A British passports are valid up to and including the date of expiry for travel anywhere in the EU, which includes Spain and all her islands.

But this issue shows how much absolute tosh there is on the worldwide web. I’ve just a quick look at a TripAdvisor thread, for example, in which one contributor says “you have to have six months on your passport when you fly out”, while another asserts “as the Canaries are not classed as an EU area, you will probably need a passport with at least six months’ validity”.

Both are rubbish; while Tenerife (and the rest of the Canary Islands) has special customs rules, the island is as much a part of the EU as Tyneside. For any country’s entry requirements, an easy solution is just to search online for FCO and the name of the country to get the official Foreign Office line.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder