Passports, visas and travel documents after Brexit

British passports after Brexit

New rules apply to UK Nationals visiting Europe from January 2021. You must check your passport validity online and renew it if you need to. You can check whether your passport is valid at gov.uk/checkpassport.

According to the Schengen Border Code, you'll need your passport to both:

• Be less than 10 years old on the day of entry 
• Have at least 3 months validity remaining on the planned day of exit 

If you do need to renew your passport, we recommend doing this as soon as possible before you intend to travel as it can take up to 10 weeks for your new passport to arrive. It may take longer to issue a first adult passport. Note: these rules do not apply if travelling to the Republic of Ireland and you can continue to use your passport as long as it is valid for the length of your stay).

Burgundy passports, whether with "European Union" on the cover or not, remain valid alongside the new blue passport.

Travel visas after Brexit

Tourists do not need a visa for short trips to the EU of up to 90 days in any 180 day period. You may need a visa or permit to stay for longer and we recommend checking the gov.uk/check-uk-visa website for more information on how to get a visa or permit.

While 90 days is plenty of time for most of us, you may be lucky enough to be able to stay for longer. A simple way to extend your trip is to spend time in a non-Schengen country such as Croatia. You can spend up to 90 days in Croatia within 180 days and these won't count towards your visa limit. So in theory you could spend six months away, split as 90 days in Croatia and 90 days in the Schengen.

For regular travellers to the EU, a handy calculator is available to work out the remaining number of days that you can stay in the Schengen zone, please enter your trip dates here.

Note: Travel to the Republic of Ireland will not change from 1 January 2021.
Note: Days spent in Croatia will not count towards the visa free 90 day limit.

Will ETIAS affect my travel?

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is the electronic system that the EU is planning to introduce. ETIAS will track individuals entering the area from countries that do not need a visa, much like the ESTA scheme in USA.

The planned launch date is May 2023 and UK citizens may need to pay a fee (of around 7 Euros) for this visa exemption.

European Health Insurance Cards/Global Health Insurance Cards 

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) allows any EU citizen access to state medical care when they are travelling in another EU country - although in many circumstances, there are significant limitations to what treatment UK citizens are able to receive.

After January 2021, UK issued European Health Insurance Cards remain valid until their expiry date within the EU and Switzerland, but not in Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. New EHICs will no longer be issued for UK travellers but a replacement UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) will provide the same access to state healthcare in the EU and Switzerland, but not in Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland. 

Given the limitations of EHIC / GHIC, we always recommend that you also have suitable travel insurance before you go on holiday. Make sure you get travel insurance that covers your health needs. Visit GOV.UK to check what your travel insurance should cover.

It is now even more important to have personal health and accident cover, and breakdown cover for your vehicle when travelling overseas. Our Red Pennant scheme covers all these things and is tailored to your personal situation.