If you’re a Briton living in Australia who’s quietly suppressed fears of losing your visa-free travel around Europe post-Brexit, then we have some good news (with a couple of catches).
The European Commission this week said it was willing to allow British travellers to continue enjoying visa-free holidays around the Old Continent in the event of a no-deal Brexit, RTE.ie reported.
Woohoo! No visas needed for 26 countries in the Schengen area. Oh but wait, what were those catches?
The first catch is that UK citizens will only receive visa-free visits to countries such as Spain, Greece, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and more for up to 90 days. Yes, there’s only three months of visa-free travel.
The second catch, and probably the more important one, is that the UK will need to extend the same offer to European nationals.
It’s all in the hands of the UK government, said the European Commission’s Deputy Head, Frans Timmermans, who hopes a deal can be reached before the 30 March 2019 departure date.
“In the scenario where the UK leaves the EU without a deal, this would apply as of 30 March 2019. If a deal is reached, however, it would apply as of the end of the transition period,” the European Commission said.
“This proposal is entirely conditional upon the UK also granting reciprocal and non-discriminatory visa-free travel for all EU member states, in line with the principle of visareciprocity.”
European Commission
- READ: Flights from the UK could be grounded after Brexit
- READ: Brexit shmexit, it’s not hurting UK tourism & here’s the proof
- READ: Brexit’s impact on the travel industry
