Do British Citizens Need Visa For Europe
I mean, what does a dream mean? It’s not literal. It’s like a warning. I might be insane now, but at that moment in the dream, it was really sweet and wonderful. And then I woke up, and everything was normal…but there was still that feeling that something was off. Are you sure you’d better not go to Europe this time? It’s gonna be a blast!
The meaning of a dream about going insane depends on the context in which it is presented. For example, if you are having this kind of dream as a reaction to the general situation in your life, the most common implication is that you feel you are being forced to act against your principles and values.
Do British Citizens Need Visa For Europe
Dreams about insanity can represent your fears, struggle and worries. Sometimes you may feel that you are losing mind and going insane, this is how your mind reflects your negative thoughts while you are resting. When you are asleep, your conscious mind is turned off and your subconscious mind gets to work.
ETIAS FOR UK CITIZENS TRAVELLING TO EUROPE AFTER BREXIT
Although British citizens do not need a visa to visit Europe, they will need an ETIAS visa waiver from 2023.
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System is being introduced to register visitors from visa-exempt non-EU nations. The EU Commission has confirmed that British tourists will need to apply for ETIAS to enter Europe from the UK.
Fortunately, ETIAS is easier to obtain than a visa, the registration process is fully online with no need to visit an embassy or consulate.
ETIAS is being introduced to boost security across the EU, visitors will be screened before they arrive, preventing potentially dangerous individuals from crossing the border legally.
Like all other ETIAS applicants, British passport holders will pay a small fee which will cover the system’s running costs. With surplus revenue generated from ETIAS being added to the EU general budget, it could be claimed that UK tourists will continue to pay into the EU budget after Brexit.
HOW LONG CAN I STAY IN EUROPE AFTER BREXIT?
Like other visa-exempt third-nationals, UK passport holders can stay in the Schengen zone for up to 90 days per 180-day period.
An approved ETIAS authorisation will be valid for 3 years, or until the passport expires, British travellers won’t need to apply each time they visit Europe.
Brexit and ETIAS are coincidental, ETIAS is not a consequence of Brexit. However, British passport holders would not have required the travel authorisation had the UK not left the European Union.
WHICH COUNTRIES WILL REQUIRE ETIAS AFTER BREXIT
UK citizens will need ETIAS to enter Schengen Area nations. The same ETIAS permit is valid for all Schengen countries. It can be used for train, road, ferry, and air travel to Europe as well as to cross land and sea borders.
Once a British citizen has crossed an external Schengen border with ETIAS they can move around the borderless travel zone without facing further checkpoints.
It was agreed that Gibraltar would become part of Schengen territory after Brexit. As a result, it is likely that ETIAS will be required to travel from the UK to Gibraltar after Brexit. This is yet to be confirmed.
TRAVELLING TO THE UK FROM THE EU AFTER BREXIT
The UK will soon introduce its own visa waiver, the UK ETA. EU citizens will not need a visa to enter the UK for short vacations and business trips, but they will need an electronic travel authorisation.
The British government has said the UK visa waiver should be in place by 2025. Once the new system is rolled out, the ETA will become a mandatory entry requirement.
Like ETIAS, the UK ETA will be a digital system. Visitors will apply online before travelling to the United Kingdom.
During the first quarter of 2021, there was an increase in the number of people being turned away at the UK border. By pre-screening visa-free travellers, the UK visa waiver will help reduce these figures.
WHEN WILL TRAVEL TO EUROPE RESUME?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a temporary travel ban across Europe. Non-EU citizens, including British people, were able to enter EU countries for essential purposes only.
Thanks to successful vaccine campaigns in Europe and across the world, the European travel ban is now being gradually lifted. Movement between EU nations is now possible, facilitated by the EU Digital COVID certificate.
British people who are fully vaccinated, test negative for COVID-19, or have recovered from the virus may now visit certain tourist destinations, like Spain and Portugal.
Europe’s travel bans and entry restrictions are continually reviewed during COVID-19. British travellers must ensure they have all the latest information before making travel plans.
OBTAINING ETIAS TO TRAVEL TO EUROPE WILL NOT BE OPTIONAL
ETIAS will be highly regulated. Airlines, ferry firms, train operators and coach companies will check that travellers have a valid ETIAS visa waiver before departure. All operators will be required to verify, “that travellers are in possession of a valid travel authorisation”.
If a British person travels to a Schengen country without an ETIAS visa waiver, they will not be allowed to enter the country. The EU said:
“At the request of the authorities competent to carry out the border checks, the carriers shall be obliged to return the third-country nationals to the third country from which they were transported or to the third country which issues the travel document.”
UK COMMITTEE REQUESTS CLARIFICATION OF ETIAS
The recently appointed UK Justice and Home Affairs Committee has focussed on the changes that will be brought about by ETIAS and the EES.
In a letter to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel dated July 1 2021, the committee raised a series of questions about these 2 new systems, asking for clarification.
The letter covered the following points:
- The level of disruption expected following the launch of EES and ETIAS
- How prepared British people are for the upcoming changes
- How confidential information of applicants will be protected
- The control British citizens will have over the data collected about them by the EU, how it is stored and how it will be used
- How the UK government will ensure applications are assessed in a lawful and non-discriminatory way
Given that ETIAS will result in a Europe travel ban for UK citizens that pose a high-epidemic risk or security threat, the House of Lords has stressed the importance of these clarifications.
The committee is now waiting for further information on the effects of ETIAS on European air travel and movement between the UK and the EU.
VISA-FREE DEAL CONDITIONAL ON UK RECIPROCITY
The European Commission said British citizens will not need visas to visit the European Union for short-term stays. However, this policy recommendation is dependent on the UK continuing to offer reciprocal visa-free access to European Union citizens.
On February 1, 2019, the European Council stated: “According to EU rules, visa exemption is granted on condition of reciprocity. The government of the United Kingdom has stated that it does not intend to require a visa from EU citizens travelling to the UK for short stays”.
“In the event that the United Kingdom introduces a visa requirement for nationals of at least one member state in the future, the existing reciprocity mechanism would apply and the three institutions and the member states would commit to act without delay in applying the mechanism”, they said.
Now that plans for a UK visa waiver have been confirmed, it is likely that visa-free travel between Britain and the EU will continue.
FURTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR UK CITIZENS TRAVELLING TO EUROPE
Aside from ETIAS, there are other ways in which travelling to EU countries has changed from 2021.
UK passport holders planning a trip to Europe need to be aware of new rules regarding:
- Passport validity
- Driving in Europe
- Healthcare overseas