2025 will see new Brexit barriers to British passport holders travelling for leisure or business. Exact dates for the start of new procedures are yet to be announced, but travellers need to be aware and have up to date passports if planning an EU trip. First to arrive will be the EU Entry/Exit System, known as EES. A few months later sees the introduction of The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). Citizens of 60 nations, including the UK, will be subject to these new procedures. EU citizens and citizens of Schengen countries are exempt.
Because the UK chose to leave the EU and the European Single Market, Britain became a “third country.” This means it is no longer in the EU, so British citizens don’t get the benefits EU citizens enjoy. Citizens of EU countries, including those residents in the UK, will not need an ETIAS certificate. Nor will they need to go through EES.
It is thought EES will begin operations during the first six months of 2025 and the ETIAS scheme will go live during the following six months. Best advice is to check with your travel provider.
David Clarke, chair of the European Movement in Scotland says the new rules and procedures show how badly misled voters were about leaving the EU.
“People like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage said there would be no downsides to leaving the EU. What we got was a smaller economy, less trade, less choice, dearer food and clothing and more complex and more expensive travel.
“Brexit is a national tragedy, but it can be reversed. We need to rejoin the single European market, as the first step to getting back what the Brexit side duped people into giving up.”
The ETIAS procedure will require all UK citizens (including children) to complete an online application, provide personal details, answer security questions and pay a €7 fee. This authorisation will be linked to the traveller’s passport and be valid for three years, or until the passport expires. The maximum permitted length of stay in any of the 30 countries operating the scheme is 90 days.
Known as a ‘short stay’ visa, ETIAS covers visits, holidays or business trips with a duration of up to 90 days and taken within a 180-day period.
People under 18 and over 70 are exempt from paying the €7 fee.
Those without an ETIAS will not be allowed entry into any one of the thirty European countries adopting ETIAS.
The EU Entry/Exit system is an electronic system that will replace the physical stamping of passports when you go through passport control when arriving at and leaving a destination. It will register all entries and exits, so it will register your movements every time you cross a border in or out of the EU/Schengen area.
The system will read traveller’s passports, take a picture and read a fingerprint (children under 12 are exempt from giving a fingerprint).
Which countries will the new rules apply to?
When EES comes in, these are the countries that will be using it:
Nationals of these countries/territories need to apply for an ETIAS travel authorisation.
Article is a press release from the European Movement in Scotland.
More in European Movement.
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