6Visa exemption for UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit
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Committee’s assessment |
Politically important |
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Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested; drawn to the attention of the Committee on Exiting the European Union and the Home Affairs Committee |
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Document details |
Proposal for a Regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, as regards the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU |
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Legal base |
Article 77(2)(a) TFEU, ordinary legislative procedure, QMV |
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Department |
Home Office |
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Document Number |
(40192), 14329/18, COM(18) 745 |
Summary and Committee’s conclusions
6.1Under EU law, nationals of the United Kingdom who are British citizens have a right to live and move freely within the EU and the wider Schengen area (covering Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein), without obtaining an entry visa, because of their status as EU citizens. Official data cited by the European Commission indicate that residents in the UK undertook 53 million trips to the other 27 EU Member States in 2016, reflecting the EU’s importance as a tourist destination, business and trading partner.59
6.2The EU has a common visa policy for “short-stay” visits which do not exceed 90 days in any 180-day period. The EU Visa Regulation adopted in 2001 sets out the criteria for deciding whether nationals of third (non-EU and non-Schengen) countries need a visa to enter and move within the Schengen free movement area for short stays and establishes a list of third countries whose nationals do need a visa and a list of those who are exempt and enjoy visa-free access.60 The UK and Ireland do not participate in this Regulation, or in the EU’s common visa policy, and have their own arrangements for the admission of third country (non-EU and non-Schengen) nationals as part of their Common Travel Area.61 The UK is not therefore entitled to take part in, or vote on the adoption of, any changes to the EU Visa Regulation.
6.3When the UK leaves the EU, UK nationals who are British citizens will lose their status as EU citizens. Under the draft EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement, their right to enter and move freely within the Schengen would nonetheless continue to apply until the end of a post-exit transition/implementation period.62 If the UK were to leave the EU without a deal , this right would end on 30 March 2019. As part of its preparations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the European Commission has put forward a proposed Regulation which would exempt UK nationals who are British citizens from the requirement to obtain an entry visa for short-stays within the Schengen area. The Regulation would enter into force on 30 March 2019—exit day—but only take effect when EU law ceases to apply to the UK. This could be any date between 30 March 2019 (if there is no deal) and 1 January 2023 (if the draft Withdrawal Agreement is ratified and there is a further extension of the post-exit transition period). The visa exemption would depend on the UK similarly allowing visa-free entry post-exit for the nationals of the remaining 27 EU Member States.
6.4Granting visa-free travel for short stays does not mean that there will be no changes for UK nationals travelling to the EU post-exit, as the European Commission makes clear in its explanatory memorandum accompanying the proposed Regulation. Two new EU information systems—the EU Entry/Exit System (“EES”) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (“ETIAS”)—will apply once they become fully operational (likely to be in 2020). These systems will make it easier to detect and remove third country nationals who “overstay” by logging the length of their stay within the EU (the EES) and ensure that there is an initial screening before they travel to mitigate any security, illegal immigration or public health risk (ETIAS).
6.5In her Explanatory Memorandum of 30 November 2018, the Immigration Minister (Caroline Nokes) confirms that the proposed Regulation would include the UK in the list of visa-exempt countries for the purpose of short (90 day) stays in the EU. She emphasises that all British citizens, including UK nationals who are not British citizens (for example, British Overseas Territory citizens and British subjects) would have visa-free access to the EU.63 The proposed Regulation would not affect “the reciprocal status of Irish citizens in the UK, and British citizens in Ireland” under the Common Travel Area arrangements. As it only concerns short stays, it “does not touch on issues of labour mobility”.
6.6The Minister refers us to the Government’s July 2018 White Paper, The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union, in which the Government envisages reciprocal arrangements to enable citizens to travel freely, without a visa, for tourism and temporary business activity. She adds that the Political Declaration on the Framework for the Future Relationship accompanying the draft EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement states that the EU and the UK “aim to provide, through their domestic laws, for visa-free travel” for short-term visits. The proposed Regulation is consistent with this objective.
6.7The Minister expects the proposed Regulation to move quickly through the legislative process “so that it is in place in advance of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU”.
Our Conclusions
6.8We welcome the proposed Regulation which will ensure visa-free access for short stays in the EU and wider Schengen area for UK nationals once the UK leaves the EU and EU free movement law ceases to apply. Whilst the Minister says she expects the proposal to move swiftly through the EU legislative process, the European Commission makes clear that progress will depend on the Government “formalising” its commitment to grant EU citizens reciprocal visa-free access for short stays in the UK. We ask the Minister to confirm that this will necessitate a change to the UK’s Immigration Rules and when she expects to announce and give effect to this change.
6.9We have previously reported on the Commission’s proposal (now agreed) to introduce a European Travel Information and Authorisation System—ETIAS—which would require nationals of visa-exempt third countries to complete an online application form and undergo security screening before being granted authorisation to travel. In our last Report on the ETIAS proposal (dated 13 November 2017), we noted that the ETIAS Central System would contain the personal data of a large number of UK nationals once the UK had left the EU. We asked the Minister to press for “extremely robust safeguards” and requested regular progress reports on the negotiations. We have had no response. We expect the Minister to explain how the ETIAS system will affect UK nationals post-exit and whether the Government intends to introduce a similar system for EU nationals travelling to the UK post-exit.
6.10Pending further information, the proposed Regulation remains under scrutiny. We draw this chapter to the attention of the Home Affairs Committee and Justice Committee.
Full details of the documents:
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement, as regards the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU: (40192), 14329/18, COM(18) 745.
Background
6.11The inclusion of a third country in the visa-required or visa-exempt list annexed to the EU Visa Regulation must be based on a case-by-case assessment of various criteria, notably:
- the risk of illegal immigration;
- public policy and security;
- economic benefit from tourism and foreign trade;
- external relations considerations, such as respect for human rights and the implications for regional coherence; and
- reciprocity.
6.12The Regulation contains a suspension mechanism enabling the EU to review and suspend visa-free travel in the event of a “substantial and sudden increase” in the number of illegal immigrants or asylum applicants from a visa-exempt third country. It also contains a reciprocity mechanism to ensure that the EU can respond swiftly if a visa-exempt third country imposes a visa requirement on the nationals of any EU Member State.
6.13The latest proposed Regulation would include the UK in the list of visa-exempt third countries in recognition of the UK’s geographical proximity to the EU, close trading links, high volume of travel and shared commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law.64
Previous Committee Reports
None.
59 See the data published by the Office for National Statistics on travel to and from the UK, taken from the International Passenger Survey.
60 Regulation (EC) No 539/2001. The Regulation has been frequently amended. The link is to the latest consolidated text of the Regulation.
61 The UK and Ireland do not participate in the EU Visa Regulation as they are not part of the Schengen free movement area.
62 See Articles 127 and 132 of the draft Withdrawal Agreement. EU free movement law could apply until end December 2020 or end December 2022 if the transition period is extended for a further two years.
63 British nationals (Overseas), British overseas territory citizens, British overseas citizens, British protected persons and British subjects have enjoyed visa-free access to the EU since 2014. The proposed Regulation would not change their status.
64 See the European Commission’s explanatory memorandum accompanying the proposed Regulation.
Published: 18 December 2018