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British passport holders wishing to holiday in most EU countries will have to pay a €7 charge before they travel from November due to a little-publicised consequence of Brexit.
For short stays in the EU of up to 90 days, including day trips to Saint Malo, British passport holders won’t need a visa, but will have to apply for a visa-waiver.
Once granted – through the European Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme – the visa-waiver will be valid for a minimum of two years, so islanders with a British passport will not have to pay €7 every time they visit the EU but just when they need a new visa-waiver, or when their passport expires.
The visa-waiver fee for Britons was due to be introduced this May but the European Commission postponed it by six months. From November, travellers will have to pay to visit any countries in Europe’s passport-free zone, the Schengen Area.
Pictured: Even for day trips to Saint Malo, British passport-holding islanders will need to apply for a visa-waiver.
Countries in that zone include France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden and Greece.
Like the American ESTA visa-waiver system, British travellers have to pre-register their details and pay the fee before travelling.
Before Brexit, Britons benefited from freedom of movement across the EU but this came to an end when the UK – and by extension, Jersey – left the EU in January 2020.
The new charge has thus far received little publicity locally or nationally, and so many islanders may not be aware. It will apply to the island-variant of the British passport.
A Guernsey Border Agency spokesperson explained: “We have been aware that the EU was planning to introduce a European Travel and Information System (ETIAS), which is an electronic travel authorisation scheme that will apply to 60-plus nationalities, including British, who can travel to a wide range of European countries without a visa.
“Once this scheme is live, travellers will need to apply for an ETIAS before they can travel to any of the 30 listed countries.
“We have not yet received formal confirmation about the start date for this scheme however the website What is ETIAS (europa.eu) states it will be in place from the end of the year.
“The website includes other relevant information including that an ETIAS will cost seven Euros.”
Although part of the EU, Ireland is not part of the Schengen Area. It is also part of the Common Travel Area so Britons will not require a visa-waiver to travel there.
While Britons will not need to provide biometric data when they apply for ETIAS authorisation, they will need to register a facial image and their fingerprints when they visit the Schengen Area.
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