Post-Brexit Travel Rules for Brits

Travelling to Europe and past on your British passport

Do you know what the rules for travelling to abroad are, now that the Uk has remaining the European Union? In the Uk, we are applied to a substantial amount of money of journey independence, not often necessitating a visa on moving into a nation. So, what, if anything, has modified for British passport holders? Single Mother and father on Getaway have seemed at the new principles for intercontinental travel submit Brexit.

Travelling to the EU on a British passport – what has altered?

Until 31 December 2020, Britons were permitted to travel within the EU as extensive as their British/EU passport was legitimate. So, what has improved? If you want to journey to an EU state (or 1 of a handful of other European nations around the world), you now want to make sure that on the working day you journey you have at minimum 6 months (sometimes 3) still left on your passport AND that it your passport is much less than 10 a long time old. Just checking the expiry date is not adequate – you also need to have to look at the commence date. It doesn’t make any difference if your passport is the aged burgundy EU/Uk passport or the new blue Uk passport.

In addition, if you are travelling to Europe in your personal car, you will now need a green card and a GB sticker. The green card can be acquired from your insurance provider if you have taken out insurance policies for driving your car or truck abroad. Make positive you permit sufficient time to attain the green card. Beware that some EU nations also require you to have an international driving permit.

So, do you ever want a visa to journey to Europe? Generally not, but there are time limits now as to the size of time you can remain in Europe for leisure. If you are British vacationer visiting an EU or Schengen nation, you can remain for a utmost of 90 days inside of a 6-thirty day period time period. It ought to be observed that staying in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania does not count towards that 90-day restrict. If, on the other hand, you are a British citizen who is heading to perform, live or study in 1 of the 26 international locations in the European Union or Schengen zone, you will need to use for a Schengen visa. A Schengen visa at the moment costs €80 per adult.

Exactly where else can Brits travel without the need of a visa?

British citizens proceed to have visa-no cost entry to a full of 187 nations around the world and territories, giving them a substantial total of vacation freedom if they are holidaymakers. The record of international locations outside the EU wherever British passport holders do not need a visa is extensive, and involves among other individuals Andorra, Norway, Montenegro, Switzerland, Morocco, much of the Caribbean, Israel, Thailand, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand, and most of South America.

How can you discover out if you have to have a visa?

It is significant that you examine whether you have to have a visa effectively in advance of travelling abroad. Your travel agent or tour operator will commonly suggest, but it is worthy of examining the gov.united kingdom web-site or a visa web site, these as Byevisa.com to make sure you don’t get caught out: In the end, acquiring a visa is the traveller’s possess accountability. Brits often suppose that they do not need a visa to travel abroad, but as we reported previously, there are scenarios that involve you to maintain a visa, and these also have to do with the function of journey and the duration of time you intend to keep:

Keeping for a longer time than 90 times in a 180-working day interval or performing, studying, or residing in a Schengen state imply that you have to have to implement for a Schengen visa.

There are also a number of other nations around the world popular with United kingdom travellers that call for you to apply for a visa either on arrival or in progress. Nations around the world the place you only have to have a visa on arrival and where this is basically a formality and either cost-free or low-cost are typical tourist hotspots, such as the Maldives, the Seychelles, and Tonga, but also the UAE. International locations the place you need to apply for a visa in advance include, amongst other folks, Australia, the United States, Canada, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.

Although tourist visas are typically easy and inexpensive e-visas, many others can be much more of a obstacle. Notoriously complicated to get hold of are visas for Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan, to title but a couple. As an example, travelling to China as a vacationer for far more than 72 hours indicates that you want to utilize for a visa in the Uk and agenda a facial area-encounter-appointment at the Chinese embassy in London, bringing a long listing of documents, including resort bookings, flight itinerary, and so forth. The complete procedure can consider a few months, so you need to start off arranging well in advance. Alternatively, you can go online and uncover a corporation to deal with the process for you.

What is the ETIAS visa waiver scheme?

You may have heard of ETIAS and been asking yourself what this is and to what lengthen it applies to British passport holders. This is a new plan established by the European Union and due to be enforced from 2022. For Britons, it will mean that they will have to have to fill in a type on the web and pay a little price for a 3-12 months visa that will permit them to travel to EU and Schengen nations. The visa is intended to improve stability for EU citizens and individuals travelling to the EU.

What about roaming?

Between 2017 and 2020, British isles individuals have been ready to use the minutes, texts and info involved in their cell phone contracts when travelling in the EU.  Unfortunately, the Brexit trade deal among the British isles and the EU did not involve safety against roaming rates. Unsurprisingly, British isles operators have started to re-introduce rates for roaming given that January 2021. Make guaranteed that you examine and get a deal or SIM only offer in Uk that lets you to use roaming facts for your travels abroad.

What about vacation insurance plan?

A point to notice is that the Uk has achieved an agreement with the EU about the EHIC card, which will now be legitimate right up until its expiry day. The card allows citizens of EU and EEA nations, as effectively as Switzerland, to accessibility free of charge healthcare abroad in the scenario of an unexpected emergency. When your EHIC card expires, you will now need to apply for an GHIC card. Beware than not all state healthcare is no cost in the EU and that it is usually intelligent to get extra travel insurance coverage for eventualities these as treatment necessary for a lengthy time period or pre-existing ailment or repatriation in scenario you tumble severely ill and would like to or ought to return to the Uk.

By natural means, it is even far more important to receive vacation coverage if you appreciate ski holiday seasons or are organizing to go to a nation that does not have a reciprocal agreement with the Uk on health care. Really do not neglect to check out your insurance plan coverage before you travel, to make certain your getaway destination is included and to check the smaller print with regards to the functions you are setting up as some, such as diving or  wintertime sports activities, may perhaps be excluded. You can generally increase these to your plan, and we generally request our single dad and mom to check that they are coated for winter sporting activities and tobogganing, when they guide one particular of our one mother or father ski holidays.

Journey may possibly have been challenging, and at periods unachievable, over the previous two several years. But the world is slowly returning to standard, and most Brits are determined to go on a significantly-deserved holiday break soon after months of currently being stuck indoors. So, it is superior to know wherever your British passport can get you and that it is even now viewed as one of the most strong passports when it will come to travelling the earth.

About the Writer:

One Parents on Holiday getaway provide thoroughly-organised solitary father or mother holiday seasons, together with beach front vacations, farm vacations, activity holidays, solitary parent ski vacations and solo vacations for singles and one parent empty nesters.