After Brexit: New realities for European travel

Brexit brings new rules and restrictions on cross-border travel.

February 8, 2021 – Last year’s agreement completing Brexit brought with it a new, complex patchwork of rules governing cross-border travel between the United Kingdom and the European Union. In the near-term, COVID-related border closures overshadow the dampening effect that heightened friction at the border may have on travel. Once governments lift these containment measures, the new untested procedures could impede travel, and even cut short a potential strong re-bound in tourism.

Intra-European travel staged a slight recovery last summer as border re-opening released strong pent-up demand. As we look ahead to summer 2021, a similar response could happen and hopefully be more lasting with more effective disease controls. While the new rules work against a strong rebound for British, European and international travel across the English Channel, time still remains to adjust processes and procedures to minimize the roadblocks to a robust recovery.

Life in the United Kingdom just got more complicated

On Christmas Eve, the United Kingdom and the European Union agreed on a trade deal that provides a new framework for their future commercial relations; thus, concluding the process started by the June 2016 Brexit referendum.  By leaving the European Union and opting out of some of the other European multilateral agreements, such as the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom fully reverted to the status of “third party.”  This is creating several challenges for British households.

Some of these are already apparent: trade in goods, especially fruit, vegetables, and fish, is undergoing a painful adjustment to the new red tape, resulting in shortages at grocery stores, particularly in Northern Ireland.  Some of the impact on U.K. households has yet to fully emerge, such as the effect on prices and incomes.  In a few months, we will offer a comprehensive analysis of the new consumer landscape as it is emerging from the trade deal.  In the area of travel and tourism, nonetheless, the change of status may have important repercussions: more friction at the border could serve as a deterrent both to travel across the two banks of the English Channel, as well as with the rest of the world.

Brexit brings new rules and restrictions on cross-border travel

One of the goals of Brexit was to end freedom of movement between the U.K. and the European Union so that the U.K. could regain control of its border. In practical terms, this is resulting in new regulations that will have different consequences on three different groups of travellers: E.U. travellers to the U.K., U.K. travellers to the E.U., and rest-of-the-world travellers to the region. E.U. citizens heading to the U.K. will face somewhat fewer obstacles than their U.K. counterparts moving into the E.U., as European visitors are allowed up to six months of visa-free travel to the U.K.  For U.K. citizens traveling to Europe, though, life will get more complicated.

U.K. nationals are now restricted to 90-days visa-free travel in the E.U. over a rolling 180 days.1 This includes U.K. citizens with second homes in the E.U. Upon entry, they are no longer eligible to use E.U. fast track passport controls, must have a return ticket, and need at least six months left on their passport.2

U.K. travellers will have the added inconvenience of joining the queue of non-E.U. passports upon entry. Longer term, U.K. citizens will be treated as third-country citizens, so by the end of 2022 they will be required to apply for a European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) travel scheme in order to travel visa-free to the Schengen Area.*

*Comprises 26 European countries that have abolished passport and other border controls at their mutual borders.

More highlights:

  • U.K. traveller preferences
  • Friction at the border could lead to lower travel within Europe
  • COVID-19 Economic Impact Index
  • Regional recovery updates

Read the complete January Global Economic Insights report

Top destinations for U.K. travellers

A list of the top 10 destinations for U.K. travelers in 2019. See Image Description.

A list of the top 10 destinations for U.K. travellers in 2019, starting with Spain (representing 18.1 million U.K. arrivals), followed by France (12.2 million), Ireland (5 million), the U.S. (4.8 million), Italy (3.8 million), Greece (3.5 million), Turkey (2.6 million), Germany (2.6 million), Portugal (2.4 million), and the Netherlands (2.4 million).

Sources: Visa Business and Economic Insights analysis of VisaNet data

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