The headlines this week looked scary for those of us who fret about red tape when travelling. “UK citizens travelling to EU next summer will have to pay €7 visa-waiver charge” read one.
Let me guide you through the latest post-Brexit bureaucracy muddle – starting with that very headline.
Myth 1: “UK citizens travelling to EU next summer will have to pay €7 visa-waiver charge.”
Happily, that sentence becomes correct only if you replace “will” with “won’t”. Certainly, the toughest-ever tightening of red tape for British travellers will begin 10 weeks from now. But you won’t have to pay anything for at least another year.
Here’s the timeline for the changes. On 10 November 2024, the EU introduces the “entry-exit system” (EES) that will record the movements of non-EU visitors to the Schengen Area (comprising all EU nations except Cyprus and Ireland, as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).
British passport holders must currently have their travel documents inspected and stamped. The good news is that passport stamping will end. The bad news is that every traveller must, in theory at least, be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric.
It will trigger loads of absurd-looking workarounds, such as the sealed buses running through the middle of Dover carrying passengers who technically are already in French territory.
In the frankly unlikely event that the introduction of EES goes smoothly, six months later the Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) will be launched.
This next step in tightening frontier controls is an online permit system similar to the US Esta scheme, but cheaper at €7 (£6) and valid for longer: three years.
Add six months to the EES start date and you reach May 2025. But even though Etias is planned to start then, you still don’t need to do anything.
A six-month transitional period is planned, during which Etias is strictly optional. It will not be mandatory for prospective UK visitors to apply online for permission to enter the Schengen Area until November 2025 at the earliest.
Even then, Brussels will provide a further six-month “grace period”. Only once will you be allowed to enter the European Union without an Etias. That takes us to the summer of 2026.
Myth 2: “The UK is being punished because of Brexit.”
Nonsense. Work on strengthening the European Union’s external border began a decade ago. British officials participated in the initial planning for the entry-exit system and online registration for third-country nationals. Theresa May, as prime minister, recognised the potential for disarray back in 2016.
After the nation voted to leave the European Union, Boris Johnson’s government negotiated for British travellers to be classified as third-country nationals – alongside the people of East Timor and Venezuela. In other words, the UK asked to be subject to all the extra red tape that everyone already knew was on the horizon. The EU agreed. So Brussels is delivering exactly what we wanted. Rejoice.
Myth 3: “Had we remained in the EU we would still be subject to all the new red tape due to being outside the Schengen Area.”
Rubbish. Were the UK still in the European Union, neither EES nor Etias would affect British passport holders. Citizens of EU countries outside the Schengen Area (currently Cyprus and Ireland) need not go through the entry-exit rigmarole nor get an Etias.
They will simply have their passport/ID checked on arrival and departure, usually via a fast-track line. The border official can only verify that their travel document is valid, and that it belongs to them.
We would have enjoyed exactly the same light-touch border experience had we voted to Remain – or had the Johnson government not gone for a hard Brexit.
Myth 4: “It’s normal. There will always be queues and always have been.”
That response on X is one of many similar remarks I have received. The “new normal”, with fingerprints and facial biometrics, could make those queues four times longer, according to some EU member state estimates.
Myth 5: The queues at UK airports could lead to missed flights.”
Some flights could be missed as a result of the new rules – but not from UK airports. There is certainly potential for missed ferries at the Port of Dover, which faces the biggest problems because of its constrained location and the presence of “juxtaposed border controls” – with French officials checking passports while still in Kent. But even if the queues mean you miss your planned departure, you will be put on the next available sailing.
All flights from the UK to the Schengen Area will be checked on arrival at the European end. There will doubtless be long waits, but at least you will be in the right country as you stand and stew.
Checks will also be made on departure from the EU back to the UK, and this is where that small risk exists. But I am optimistic that the obligation for each member state of the European Union to staff its borders correctly will be respected.
Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a key travel issue – and what it means for you.