The ETIAS Guide: What You Need to Know About Traveling to the UK After Brexit

Brexit has been quite a heavy subject in British politics, maybe even to the point of interest to other countries as well. With Britain leaving the European Union, a lot of people wonder if it would affect travel to the UK post-Brexit. If that’s an area of concern right now, you would be glad to know that there may be not much that will be different as of now.

This, of course, all depends on the reason for your travel to Britain. Some things have changed in the new system and others have and will probably remain the same. Here is a quick guide on Brexit and what it means for your UK travel plans.

 

A Guide through Traveling to the UK After Brexit

 

Brief Brexit Background 

If you aren’t really sure how Brexit could complicate some travel plans to the UK, then you have to know just the basics of what it is. 

Brexit comes from the two terms “Britain” and “Exit,” which technically explains it all. The back story is that Britain was part of the European Union, or EU, for the longest time until they made the close split decision vote to leave with a 52 percent majority vote. Brexit was originally scheduled to happen last March 29, 2019, but was extended with a new deadline of January 31, 2020. 

Leaving the EU could spell out a lot of changes for UK citizens. It ultimately affects their trading system, which means they will no longer be tariff-free when dealing with EU members. This increases the price of commodities such as food, of which one-third of the supply of the country is imported from EU countries. It could also affect their currency negatively, though much of this is still not certain or can only be proven when the time comes.

 

The Good, the Neutral, and the Unknown: Post-Brexit Effects for Travelers

 

The Good

As of this writing, Brexit claims that it won’t affect travel to the UK as far as vacations are concerned. US citizens can still enter Britain for the holiday seasons and the application process remains the same. If you are a US passport holder, you won’t need a visa for any purpose that you’re there unless you plan to work or study there for the long term. If you’re coming in from the US but aren’t a US passport holder, then you would need a visa. Tourist visas are still granted upon entry and are valid for a six-month stay. 

Pet travels will also still be allowed when you board a plane to the UK. As long as the necessary requirements are filled, then your animal friend would be allowed entry.

The Neutral

As for your travel budget is concerned, the conversion from dollars to pounds is said not to change drastically. You may get just a little bit more squeezed from your dollars compared to 2016, but don’t expect it to bump up your travel budget. 

The Unknown

There are still a couple of things that people are uncertain about in regards to Brexit moving forward. It is not certain what steps EU citizens have to take to visit the UK. 

In fact, little is know if the EU citizens who have settled in Britain have to go back to their countries or if their jobs secure them a place in the UK. This was one of the concerns of many opposing the leave. 

 

ETIAS “Vis-a-Visa” Brexit 

 

Brexit has relatively no direct effect on the implementation of ETIAS. The United Kingdom has never been part of the Schengen agreement, which means it wouldn’t need this requirement.

US citizens who want to both visit the UK and Schengen area have to go through different processes for entry in these places. So if you were planning for a cross-country trip around Europe that had both Schengen areas and the UK in your itinerary in 2021, you’d have to apply for an ETIAS visa waiver online to go to ETIAS countries. 

If you are part of the countries that require UK visas, note that this visa won’t be the same as a Schengen visa.   

Other reasons for travel such as for work and for study longterm do require visas. For these special cases, you may contact the employer/school or embassy to know how it works. It is still not certain if Brexit will directly affect employment or study grants.  

Brexit will take a toll on a lot of different aspects in the UK’s system of government, though there’s no real telltale sign of how it will turn out for travelers. At most, there is some speculation that flights may jack up in price. Of course, things can always change after its implementation, which is set to happen very soon.

ALSO READ: Dual Citizenship

Planning a European vacation by the year 2021? As said earlier, the European Travel Information and Authorization System or ETIAS will come into effect by this time. But until then, entry to Schengen countries for US passport holders remain visa-free. But for non-US passport holders, Schengen visas are still required to go on these trips. 

Etiasvisachengen.com is a visa assistance service that can take care of your travel documents to Europe for you so you can go on your trip hassle-free. And when the implementation of ETIAS comes, part of the company’s service is to assist US nationals in the process as well. Contact us to get started.

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