Changes to travel since Brexit

Changes to passport rules and healthcare arrangements mean that you should:

1) Check your passport’s issue and expiry dates – for entry to the EU / Schengen area it should have been issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the issue date) and also it must have 3 months’ validity beyond the date of your return to the UK (check the expiry date). You should also check with your airline or cross-Channel operator to ensure that your passport meets their criteria, as they may require additional validity. Entry requirements do change and you must check the up-to-date position in good time before departure. You will also need to ensure that your passport is stamped each time you enter or exit the Schengen area as a visitor.

2) Apply for a free Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC – a replacement for the European Health Insurance Card, or EHIC) if you are travelling to a European country other than Norway and do not have an EHIC. If you already have an EHIC, you can continue to use this until it expires (except in Norway). Your EHIC/GHIC may entitle you free or reduced-cost state-provided medical treatment while abroad. You can apply at www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic/. If you are holidaying in Norway and require medical care, you can present your UK passport at the medical facility and treatment will be provided on the same terms as for Norwegian nationals.

3) Take out adequate travel insurance – the EHIC/GHIC does not cover all health-related costs and should not be relied upon as a substitute for comprehensive travel insurance, so it is essential that you take out an adequate policy. Our insurance page gives details of a policy that you may like to consider. You should ensure that your chosen policy covers any existing medical conditions. Since the GHIC and still-current EHICs are not valid in Norway, it is important that, if you already have travel insurance, you check that the terms do not exclude medical cover – especially for existing conditions – in the absence of an EHIC.

While British citizens do not currently require a visa for our featured European destinations, please be aware that in future they will need to register with ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) if travelling to countries within the Schengen area. The system is expected to become fully operational in 2024. Applications will cost 7 about euros each and will be valid for up to three years. We will update this page with more details once timelines are finalised.

If you are driving to, or as part of, your holiday, you also need to check:

1) Rules relating to UK driving licences – most people with a credit card-style UK driving licence do not have to do anything. However, if you have a UK paper licence or if your licence was issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or Isle of Man, depending on which countries you are visiting (including any you are transiting through), you may need to apply for at least one type, but possibly both types, of International Driving Permit (see www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit).

2) Arrangements for taking your car abroad – you will need to:
• check that your car insurance covers you to drive in Europe
• inform your insurer of the dates of your holiday
• display a UK sticker (not a GB one) on the rear of your car if it does not have a UK indicator on the number plate (if you are driving your car in Spain, Cyprus or Malta you will need a sticker regardless of what is on the number plate) – see www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates/flags-symbols-and-identifiers
• take your vehicle registration documents (V5) with you
You may also wish to take out European breakdown cover.

You should also be aware of the following:

• It may take longer than before to go through border controls, and you may be asked to show your return (or onward) ticket and that you have sufficient money for your stay

• You may have to pay mobile roaming charges – check with your service provider

• If travelling with an infant, the amount of powdered infant milk/infant food you can take is limited to 2kg

The British Government's website, www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein and www.gov.uk/brexit, is kept up to date and you can also subscribe to receive updates. For country-specific information about entry and other requirements, visit www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.