Change to lifetime validity for new EA National Passports

We are introducing new EA National Passports with a lifetime validity to eventually replace the existing National Passports which currently expire every 4 years.

The new National Passports will start being issued on 2nd October 2023. For FEI athletes/owners whose horses already have an EA National Passport with an expiry date, this will be a gradual rollout over a 4-year period. Athletes and owners will be able to 'upgrade' at any time prior to the passport expiry if their horse already has an existing EA National Passport.

These changes align with other national federations and breed associations whose national passports do not have an expiry date and will also result in decreased passport turnaround times and decreased risk of horse identification documentation getting lost in the post.

The current $80 fee (valid for 4 years) will change to a $200 lifetime fee for a new EA National Passport with no expiry date and postage included. The upgrade fee for an existing National Passport to a New EA National Passport with no expiry date will be $60.

All new EA National Passports will be sent pre-validated and the FEI athletes/owners will be responsible for uploading the completed passport photos onto the FEI Horse database themselves via the FEI HorseApp.

This will be a gradual rollout over a 4-year period for FEI athletes/owners whose horses already have an EA National Passport with an expiry date. Athletes and owners will be able to 'upgrade' at any time prior to the passport expiry if their horse already has an existing EA National Passport. Existing EA National Passports will need to be posted into the EA Office prior to reaching their Expiry Date, and we will replace the front covers of the existing passports with a new cover with no expiry. For 'upgrades' there will be no need to complete a new passport request or involve a vet for horse identification.

As a result of these changes there will be two EA National Passports in use for the next few years until the rollout has been completed. The new EA National Passports will be easily distinguishable as the EA logo on the front cover will be in colour and the old EA National Passports have a black & white cover.

When horses are ready to step up to higher FEI levels, the process of acquiring an FEI Recognition Card is easy once the horse has a National Passport. Orders for new FEI Recognition Cards will also be sent out pre-validated from the 2nd October.

Please note that FEI Passports will still be available as an option, and there will be no change to the FEI Passport ordering process.