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A headline this week was a scary one for those of us worried about travel red tape: “British nationals travelling to the EU next summer will have to pay €7 visa waiver fee.”
Let us take you straight from that headline to the latest post-Brexit bureaucratic mess.
Myth 1: “British nationals travelling to the EU next summer will have to pay a €7 visa waiver fee.”
Luckily, this sentence is only true if you replace “will” with “won't.” Sure, the toughest ramp-up of red tape ever for British travellers starts 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 November 10, 2024, the EU will introduce an “Entry/Exit System” (EES) to record the movement of non-EU visitors into the Schengen Area (which includes all EU countries except Cyprus and Ireland, as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).
Currently, British passport holders must have their travel documents checked and stamped. The good news is that there will be no more passport stamps. The bad news is that, in theory at least, all travellers will have to provide fingerprinting and facial recognition.
This will lead to a lot of seemingly absurd workarounds, such as an enclosed bus full of passengers driving through the middle of Dover, which is already technically French territory.
Frankly, the rollout of the EES is unlikely to go smoothly, given that the Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) will be launched six months later.
The next step in strengthening border controls would be an online permit system similar to the US ESTA system, but cheaper at 7 euros (6 pounds) and valid for three years.
Add six months to the EES start date and you get to May 2025. However, Etias is due to start at that point, but you still won't have to do anything.
A six-month transition period is planned, during which the use of Etias will be entirely optional: travellers from the UK will not be required to apply online for permission to enter the Schengen area until November 2025 at the earliest.
However, Brussels will still have a six-month “grace period” in place, allowing only one entry into the European Union without an ETIAS, until the summer of 2026.
Myth 2: “The UK is being punished because of Brexit.”
This is nonsense. Work to strengthen the EU's external borders began 10 years ago. British authorities were involved in early planning of an entry/exit system and online registration for third-country nationals. Prime Minister Theresa May recognised the potential for disruption already in 2016.
After the UK voted to leave the EU, Boris Johnson's government negotiated to classify British travellers as third-country nationals alongside people from East Timor and Venezuela. In other words, the UK asked to submit to all the extra bureaucracy that everyone knew was coming soon. The EU agreed. So Brussels did exactly what we wanted. Good for you.
Myth 3: “Even if I stayed in the EU, I would be outside the Schengen area and would have to go through new and complicated procedures.”
Nonsense. As long as the UK is still in the European Union, neither EES nor Etias will affect UK passport holders. Citizens of EU countries outside the Schengen area (currently Cyprus and Ireland) will not have to go through the hassle of immigration procedures or get an Etias.
At the time of entry and exit, passport/ID checks are carried out, usually in priority lanes – border officers can only check that your travel documents are valid and belong to you.
If we had voted to remain in the EU, or if Johnson's government had not opted for a hard Brexit, we would have enjoyed exactly the same experience of light border controls.
Myth #4: “It's normal. Queues always exist and always have existed.”
This response about X is one of many similar comments I have received: Some EU member states estimate that the “new normal” of fingerprint and facial biometrics could make queues four times longer.
Myth 5: Queues at UK airports can cause you to miss your flight.”
The new rules mean some flights may be missed, but not from UK airports. The port of Dover faces the biggest problems due to its constrained location and the existence of a “parallel border control” (where French authorities check passports while in Kent), so there is certainly a chance of missing a ferry. But if you miss your scheduled departure because of queues, you will be put on the next available sailing.
All flights from the UK to Schengen countries are checked on arrival on the European side, which will no doubt mean longer waits, but at least you'll be in the right country while you're standing around feeling anxious.
There will also be testing on people returning from the EU to the UK, which does pose a small risk, but I am optimistic that each EU member state's obligation to adequately staff its borders will be respected.
Simon Calder, also known as “the self-funded travel man”, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly column he explores the big travel issues and what it means for you.
