For months now, stories have been emerging about holidaymakers getting turned away from their flights because their passports are invalid.

A lot of the confusion has been around whether or not a passport has expired.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Surely you can travel with it until the expiry date? But that's not been the case since the UK left the European Union.

Here we explain the rules and how to make sure your passport meets the correct requirements...

The 10-year passport rule 

Since 2021, the European Union has considered Britons "third-country nationals", meaning passports must meet two conditions to be allowed to enter: 

1. It cannot be older than 10 years on the day of travel to the EU country. 

2. There must be at least three months until it expires by the time you leave the EU. 

The confusion arises if your passport was issued before 10 September 2018 and appears to be valid for longer than 10 years. This is because UK citizens were previously able to carry up to nine months from an old passport to a new one.

In this case, the passport may no longer meet EU requirements, even if valid elsewhere.

For example: Your passport was issued on 6 June 2016 and has an expiry date of 6 March 2027. You book a flight to Madrid on 7 July 2026, thinking it is well within the expiry date. But actually, your passport stopped being valid to enter an EU country on 6 June 2026 as that's when it's older than 10 years.

The only exception is Ireland.

What if you're travelling outside the EU? 

Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein aren't in the EU but are part of the Schengen Area, so the 10-year rule applies.

If you are travelling anywhere else in the world, your issue date doesn't matter - it's all about the expiry date. 

The rules depend on the country you are visiting. Generally, it's a good idea to have at least six months left on your passport before you travel. 

Here's a look at the passport requirements for some popular destinations: 

United States and Canada - Passport must be in date for your entire stay.

New Zealand - Passport must be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave. 

Australia - Passport must be valid for the length of your planned stay. 

Japan - Passport must be valid for the whole time you're in Japan. Blank page needed in passport for visa stamp. 

Thailand - Passport must have expiry date at least six months after the date you arrive. You need at least one blank page in your passport. 

Mexico - Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay. The Mexican Embassy in the UK also recommends that your passport is valid for at least 180 days - the longest you can stay in the country as a tourist. 

China - Passport must be valid for at least six months from your entry date.

You can check the entry requirements for the country you're visiting here. 

What should you do if you get turned away from your flight? 

Firstly, check that the reason you have been turned away is valid - there have been several reports of airlines being confused by the rules and incorrectly denying entry to people. 

If you believe they have made a mistake, travel expert Simon Calder says you should draw the staff member's attention to the official Foreign Office guidance. 

He also suggests mentioning that wrongly denying boarding comes with a minimum compensation payment of £220, plus any additional expenses caused by the mistake. 

New customers signing up to some Sky broadband products will see their monthly bills rise by £3 from April. 

The increase will apply to customers for certain products signing up from 4 February, so from yesterday onwards.

Terms and conditions updates on the Sky website showed several broadband products would increase, including: 

• Superfast 35, Superfast, Full Fibre 75 - increase from £46 a month to £49

• Full Fibre 100 - increase from £41 a month to £44

• Full Fibre 150 - increase from £43 a month to £46

• Full Fibre Gigifast - increase from £49 a month to £52

• Full Fibre 5 Gigifast+ - increase from £85 a month to £88 

But other products are not covered by the increases, and some customers will have pricing protection during the first 60 days of their minimum term.

Ernest Doku, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, said the changes are a "frustrating blow" for new customers. 

"While Sky's current increases are lower than the £4 hikes recently announced by other providers, the issue is the lack of future certainty, due to Sky's variable price increase policy," Doku said. 

"Under current rules, these variable increases must trigger a mandatory 30-day window for customers to leave penalty-free. 

"However, this is a narrow window that can be easy to miss. 

"The countdown usually starts from the date you are notified rather than when the price actually rises; by the time most people notice the change on their bill, their chance to switch penalty-free has often vanished." 

For this week's guide, Anna Bowes, savings expert from The Private Office, looks at the state of the savings market ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision today... 

Interest rate decisions are always important for savers to keep an eye on because when the Bank of England makes a change, lots of savings providers tend to do the same. 

Some of you might be pleased to know the likelihood of a cut is virtually non-existent. Most economists are expecting it to be held at 3.75%.

Providers have seen this coming, and the past few weeks have been pretty rosy for savings rates. 

Some best buy rates have increased, or at least they haven't been cut.

Chase's saver account is still in the top spot for those who want to access their cash easily, paying 4.5% with a boosted rate of 2.25% for 12 months. 

But it is only available to Chase current account holders who have opened their account since 29 December. 

A new account has entered mid-table with a rate of 4.15%. 

The new Virgin Money Double Take E-Saver Issue 18 is an online-only account and, as the name suggests, allows just two withdrawals a year. 

"There is no further access until the following tax year and closure of the account counts as one of the allowed withdrawals. This means that you may not have any access to your funds if you fall foul of the rules," Bowes adds. 

Easy access cash ISAs

Financial app companies Plum and Moneybox have been playing leapfrog over the past couple of weeks, vying for top of the table.

At the time of writing, Moneybox has pipped Plum, paying 4.32%, including a bonus rate of 0.87% AER for the first 12 months. 

Fixed-rate bonds

There's been more good news than bad in the fixed-rate bond tables, with the top one-year and five-year rates a little higher than they were a couple of weeks ago. 

The new one-year leader is with Isbank via the Raisin UK cash platform and pays 4.35% AER. 

The Access Bank dominates the two and three-year bond table... 

Fixed-term cash ISAs 

It's much the same story in the fixed-rate cash ISA tables, with the top one-year, two-year and five-year rates marginally higher than they were a couple of weeks ago, while the top two-year rate has stayed the same.

Tandem tops the one-year and two-year tables, paying 4.15% and 4.11% respectively. 

Before we go, we thought we'd leave you with a few ideas for dinner, courtesy of some of the country's best chefs.

Each month, we talk to a chef to get their best tips, pet peeves and favourite at-home recipes in our Cheap Eats series (you might have read today's instalment). We've spoken to TV foodies, Michelin-star holders, an air fryer queen and at least one pastry guru. 

Read their recipes below - and we'll see you back here tomorrow for live coverage of the Bank of England's first interest rate decision of the year...  

Most Britons think above-inflation interest rates on student loans are too much to charge graduates, a new YouGov survey has found. 

The survey follows headline-making rows over the high rates of interest that students on Plan 2 tuition loans have to pay. 

The interest rate on plan 2 loans is linked to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate of inflation plus 3% and can vary from month to month. That means, at the moment, students are charged 6.2% interest. 

When they graduate, the interest is charged at RPI plus up to 3% based on your earnings. 

A graduate on a salary of £51,245 would be charged 6.2%, while those earning £28,470 pay 3.2%. 

In the YouGov survey, 76% of people said an interest rate of 6% was too high. 

More than half (57%) believed an interest rate that matched inflation would be "about right". 

For many graduates, everything they earn from their salary is dwarfed by the interest that is added to their debt every month, with many now owing more than they ever borrowed. 

Listen to two graduates' experiences... 

The loans are written off after 30 years, even if they haven't been completely paid off, so many face repayments until their 50s.

The salary threshold, above which plan 2 graduates have to repay 9% of anything they earn, will rise to £29,385 in April.

In the YouGov survey, 63% of people believed paying 9% of earnings over the threshold was too much. 

Were it reduced to 6%, then the public are divided between 38% who say this is too high and 34% who see it as about right.

Experts have warned that interest payments have ballooned out of control and the system "looks like a shady tax scam".

Philly Ponniah, chartered wealth manager and financial coach said every extra pound earned above the threshold lost 9p straight away.

"I'm seeing this with some younger clients, and it's clearly disincentivising pay rises and progression at the margins. When people work harder or get promoted and feel worse off in real terms, something in the system is broken. If higher effort just means higher deductions with no realistic path to clearing the debt, motivation drops," she said. 

"For many, this no longer feels like borrowing for education, it feels like a permanent surcharge on success, and that's a dangerous message to bake into the tax system." 

Samuel Mather-Holgate, independent financial adviser at advice frm Mather and Murray Financial, told Newspage: "This system looks like a shady tax scam, with millions of students entering into what is, in effect, a graduate tax scheme without fully considering the implications of this. 

"For most of their lives they will be paying an effective income tax rate of 9% higher than other works on relevant earnings above £30,000 with little prospect of paying it off and getting out of this marginal rate unless they become a Premier League footballer." 

What do you think about student loans? Tell us your thoughts in the comment box above 

More than 140,000 people have now signed up to our free Money newsletter, which brings the kind of content you enjoy in the award-winning Money blog directly to your inbox every week.

In this week's newsletter, we look at the drawbacks of using the "pay by bank" option offered by major companies including Ryanair and Just Eat (and many more).

Also in Friday's newsletter:

• Love steak? We give you early access to our latest "Buy like a pro" feature on what to look for when buying a cut;
• "EDF back-billed me from years ago - help": Early access to our weekly Money Problem feature;
• Listed: Best deals on the market for broadband, mortgages, savings, bank switching and energy.

So join our growing Money community - and thanks to the tens of thousands of you who already have.

February could be the best month to get your home sold, according to analysis by Rightmove. 

Looking at millions of properties listed for sale over 10 years, the property site found that sellers were most likely to successfully find a buyer this month. 

Seven in 10 homes listed for sale in February found a buyer, the research found. 

January, typically when activity starts ramping up after a quieter Christmas period, and March, the popular Spring selling month, tied for second place, with 68.8% of homes listed for sale going on to find a buyer. 

October came bottom of the list, but 65.4% of homes listed in this month still managed to find a buyer. 

In other metrics, January was identified as the quickest month to sell a home on average. 

Homes listed for sale in January found a buyer in around 47 days. February was the next quickest at 48 days. 

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove's property expert, says: "It's a tight contest, but on average February is the best month to get your home sold, followed by further strong months during the upcoming and very important Spring home-moving season. 

"Sellers who are yet to act but are considering a 2026 move might consider coming to market soon to take advantage of the increase in home-buyer activity." 

Britons have been told to search their drawers to take advantage of the price of gold. 

"Gold has gone up to such a high level that, really, even so much as an earring back could be worth money," Jim Tannahill, director of Suttons and Robertsons, London's oldest pawnbrokers, told Money. 

The price of gold has soared to record highs in the past year, buoyed by geopolitical uncertainty. It hit a record of $5,594.82 an ounce last week before suffering its steepest one-day fall since 1983 on Friday, but has rebounded since and is now around $5,050. 

Despite the dip, the price is significantly higher than this time last year, with investors flocking to safe-haven assets. 

That's pushed up the value of your gold at home, Tannahill said: "Tiny objects can really be worth quite a lot now, so do look in those drawers for things you never use." 

If you find an 18-carat earring back weighing one gram, "that's 80 odd pound", he said.

How will your gold be valued?

If you've seen headlines about the price of gold soaring past $5,000, don't think that's what your items will be valued on. 

First, that is the spot price for pure gold, so if you have a different carat, you need to take that into account. 

Second, the trade price of gold is less than the spot price, usually by around 2% or 3% less, Tannahill said.

Lastly, it is all quoted in dollars, so the price in sterling can vary depending on how the dollar is performing. 

Brokers will then factor in their margins, which can reduce it further. 

"High street pawn brokers will be offering a loan of somewhere between 50% and 75% of the price of gold. We are at the higher end, so we do 70% or 75% of the spot price of gold," Tannahill added. 

At the moment, that means an ounce of gold could allow you to borrow up to £2,750 or could be sold for around £3,350. 

Tannahill has seen an uptick in people wanting to sell gold, buoyed by news of soaring prices. 

"People start thinking about what's in the jewellery box, what's at the back of the drawer. All of a sudden, they've got a couple of sovereigns which are now worth £1,600 to £1,700," Tannahill said. 

"We're definitely seeing an increase in inquiries."

The most popular items sold were necklaces and rings, he said, which had "much higher intrinsic value than they did have as little as six months ago". 

Collectors will be looking for specific brands, so for watches, think Rolex or Patek Philippe and for jewellery, think Cartier, he said. 

Pieces from the 1920s or including coloured gemstones were also very popular, he added.

Items that are easy to sell, or collectables, will be kept by the pawnbroker, he said, but others will be melted down. 

Branded jewellery like Cartier, Tiffany and Van Cleef & Arpels would "definitely be polished and put in the window", he said. 

"If it's unbranded jewellery, more often than not, that's going to find its way back into the melting pot."

So what should you do if you think you have something valuable? 

The key is to research, according to Tannahill, who suggested taking an item to a few pawn brokers to compare prices.

You can work out a rough price by looking online and weighing your gold on the kitchen scales. 

But, he warned, you shouldn't rely on the information too much. 

"Not everything is always gold. Sometimes, links might have metal catches or there might be a component that is metal that might need to be factored in," he said. 

"Do a little bit of research before you sell anything." 

Glasgow and Aberdeen airports have increased the fees paid by drivers for dropping off and picking up passengers. 

Fifteen minutes of parking at both airports will now cost £7, up from £6 at Glasgow and £5.50 at Aberdeen. 

Drivers who stay longer than 15 minutes in the designated express drop-off zones will have to pay a "premium charge" on exit.

Every minute after the allotted time will be charged at £1. 

After 30 minutes, there will be a flat £50 fee to pay. 

AGS Airports, which operates both sites, blamed rising costs for the increases, but pointed out a free alternative: parking in the long-stay car park and taking a shuttle to the terminal. 

A spokesperson said: "We appreciate that this is not a popular decision; however, it is important the airport remains competitive and all money raised serves to strengthen our connectivity and help to attract new routes." 

London City, Gatwick, Heathrow and Bristol airports have also upped their drop-off prices this year.