Britain’s citizens may need to apply for visas for entry into the EU after Brexit. This is the proposal of the European Commission, which will be voted next month.
The visa regime, which will be discussed at a meeting of the Commission on 13 November, can show that persons over 18 years from Britain will be forced to pay 60 euros, fill a form of three pages and wait for up to six weeks before they are authorised to enter the so-called “Schengen” area.
This would be the case if the EU decide to place the United Kingdom on “the list of countries for which visas are required”. The other option is London to enter the list “without visas”, which must be adopted by the end of the year, according to a new Commission work programme.
The decision – part of the EU’s plans for the preparation of the finalisation of Brexit – will be shaped by the progress of the joint deal on Brexit for the withdrawal of Britain and the future relations between it and the EU.
This deal must be agreed by mid-November if EU and UK countries want to ratify it in a timely manner before Britain’s exit in March.
The visa barrier is more likely to appear if there is no deal. If there is a deal then the free travel arrangements will apply until 2021 in a transitional period.
However, even if there is a deal and if the United Kingdom is granted no-visa status, then Britain’s citizens will continue to face new barriers to enter Schengen. They will have to pay a 7-euro travel permit fee and wait for up to 96 hours to tell them if they can travel.
This is because the United Kingdom will become a “third country” and as such will fall under the new security agreements called “European Traffic Information and Authorisation System”, which will be applied in 2020.
At present, the EU does not want visas for 60 countries, including ones such as Bosnia, Guatemala, Moldova, Ukraine and Venezuela. The British visa requirement will place London in the same category as countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and most African countries.
Moreover, the EU has a no-visa policy for US citizens. However, this has proved controversial because the US still has visa requirements for EU citizens from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania.
The new travel regulations will affect not only the convenience of citizens, but also their security. After leaving the EU, Britain will lose its full access to Community security databases. Thus, organised crime and terrorist organisations can benefit from this situation.
