Slaying the myths about the tougher red tape for Europe

The headlines this week looked scary for those of us who fret about red tape when travelling. “UK citizens travelling to EU next summer will have to pay €7 visa-waiver charge” read one.

Let me guide you through the latest post-Brexit bureaucracy muddle – starting with that very headline.

Myth 1: “UK citizens travelling to EU next summer will have to pay €7 visa-waiver charge.”

Happily, that sentence becomes correct only if you replace “will” with “won’t”. Certainly, the toughest-ever tightening of red tape for British travellers will begin 10 weeks from now. But you won’t have to pay anything for at least another year.

Here’s the timeline for the changes. On 10 November 2024, the EU introduces the “entry-exit system” (EES) that will record the movements of non-EU visitors to the Schengen Area (comprising all EU nations except Cyprus and Ireland, as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).

British passport holders must currently have their travel documents inspected and stamped. The good news is that passport stamping will end. The bad news is that every traveller must, in theory at least, be fingerprinted and provide a facial biometric.

It will trigger loads of absurd-looking workarounds, such as the sealed buses running through the middle of Dover carrying passengers who technically are already in French territory.

In the frankly unlikely event that the introduction of EES goes smoothly, six months later the Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) will be launched.

This next step in tightening frontier controls is an online permit system similar to the US Esta scheme, but cheaper at €7 (£6) and valid for longer: three years.

Add six months to the EES start date and you reach May 2025. But even though Etias is planned to start then, you still don’t need to do anything.

A six-month transitional period is planned, during which Etias is strictly optional. It will not be mandatory for prospective UK visitors to apply online for permission to enter the Schengen Area until November 2025 at the earliest.

Even then, Brussels will provide a further six-month “grace period”. Only once will you be allowed to enter the European Union without an Etias. That takes us to the summer of 2026.

Myth 2: “The UK is…