Passport warning issued after tiny mistake left traveller blocked from flight

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Travellers have been warned to check their passports before heading off on holiday after a man was blocked from a flight due to a tiny mistake on his document.Matt Vandenberg was travelling from Sydney to Bali for a friend's wedding but was barred from travelling at customs due to small tear in the corner of the page - which meant it wasn't considered as valid.Staff at border controls are given guidance on checking passports for damage - and if yours falls short of standards, it means you could be denied travelling.On the UK government website, there is a for staff on what would be considered a damaged passport "which the customer cannot use as proof of identity because of its condition".This includes when personal details are unreadable, if the laminate is peeling or lifting away from the personal details page, missing or detached pages, damage caused by water, spills, tears, rips and bite marks to name a few.Taking to Twitter, Matt wrote: "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."For Matt, that meant spending 12 hours at the airport - with two airport workers by his side "the whole day" - not to mention that it