Following the COVID-19 Pandemic, everyone’s attention is back on travelling and of course, the implications of Brexit. We’ve got a quick round up of exactly what changes you need to be aware of going into 2023.
The good news is that Brexit shouldn’t have too much of an affect on holidays and short breaks to Europe. You can stay for up to 90 days in a 180-day period: so, you could take a Whole Hog 4 Week trip in April, and then join our 3-week Southern Europe Group Tour in August and you’d be fine.
It’s also worth noting that Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania all have different rules, so visits to these countries don’t count against your 90-day quota – 12-week trip to Croatia anyone!?
Make sure you double check your passport in good time, rather than rummaging around for it on the morning of your trip. You’ll need to make sure it’s less than 10 years old and has at least 6 months left on it before its expiry.
However, it will no longer be as simple as that your furry friend, as any previously issued pet passport is no longer valid in Europe and Northern Ireland – instead you’ll need to obtain an Animal Health Certificate for them. These can be obtained from your vet but have to be within 10 days of your departure date – they are only valid for 4 months too. They’ll also need to be microchipped and have had a rabies vaccination.
Once you’ve sorted out all your traveller’s passports, you’ll then get to join the queue at customs. We’ll no longer be able to use EU fast track passport lanes so expect this process to take longer than usually, both in other countries and coming back into the UK.
From November 2023, ETIAS – or a European Travel Information and Authorisation System – will be introduced and be a requirement for all visitors from the UK and other non-EU countries. Whilst the ETIAS isn’t thought as a form of visa, it will be a mandatory travel document, and will help to track the length and types of stays people have within the EU. As a result of Brexit, UK nationals can only say in Europe for 90-days within a 180-day period.
The cost of an application will be 7 Euros for people aged between 18 – 70 and free for anyone outside of that bracket.
You can learn more about the ETIAS here.
The guarantee of free roaming is no more as a result of Brexit, so you need to be careful to not rack up those huge phone bills again. Many networks have stated that they don’t yet intend to bring back these extortionate roaming charges, but it’s definitely worth double checking with your provider before heading off on your trip – or plough on ahead and do it for the gram, your call!
Before any trip, it’s important to get travel insurance – but even more so now, following Brexit, and especially if you already have an existing medical condition.
The good news is that if you have an European Health Insurance Card, then these are still valid until their expiry. It is also expected that new cards will soon replace the EHIC, with the government still working on a Global Health Insurance Card.
Ultimately there’s not too much that differs from travelling in 2021 than it did in the last few years, so you can still organise plenty of trips to EU countries without too much worry.
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