What are the new border checks to enter the EU?

Simon Calder answers your questions on border controls, tier 4 restrictions, Irish passports and French ID cards

There will be additional checks to get into EU countries from the UK (Getty)

Q I have some questions about EU borders after Brexit, and in particular questions on how long you are staying and how much money you have. I worry that it may be difficult for people with autism, as I have. Do I have to be precise or can I say something like: “I’m staying in the EU for a week or under a month, and I’ve got spending money”?

Jason E

A A significant change has just taken place, with UK citizens losing their automatic right of access to the European Union. Until the end of 2020, border staff could only check that a British citizen’s passport was valid and that it belonged to the traveller.

From 1 January 2021, that right disappears as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU and the form of Brexit adopted by the government. It will now be legal for frontier officials to ask for the planned length of your stay and for evidence of your funds.

I recommend you carry a print-out of your itinerary and have it ready for border officials. Paper is more reliable, I find; trying to find the right document on a phone when under pressure can be particularly stressful. I think that will be quite enough for border officials.

If your bank account is vaguely respectable, you could also take a recent printed statement. And if you really want a belt, braces and buttons approach, then evidence of employment or student status in the UK could help.

In practice, though, I think it is unlikely that option will be applied except in a tiny number of cases. I am old enough to remember travelling before we had the assurance of the European Union, and it was very rare to be asked such information – even though, trust me, if the Bundespolizei were going to ask anyone, it would have been the long-haired hitchhiker with a backpack, a tin of tobacco and no evidence of any pressing commitments. These days, journeys tend to be better organised. Most people (including me) have booked an onward or return trip.

As you prepare for the next trip to Europe, bear in mind that frontier officials are men and women who are trained in, and experienced at, helping us to travel while identifying the very few people who they think may pose some kind of problem to their country.

I am confident that you will have only brief and hopefully pleasant encounters with border staff.

Q Why are people from tier 4 able to travel? It is breaking the law but no one does anything, and there is no penalty. Airlines aren’t checking. Can you help?

Charlie P

A I understand the concerns about the number of people who live in England’s tier 4 yet who appear to be travelling both within the UK and abroad. The legislation in these parts of England, as well as similar laws applying in Wales, mainland Scotland and Northern Ireland, stipulate that people should not be outside their homes without a reasonable excuse.

Travelling for work (in cases when working from home is not practicable) or because of important family commitments is acceptable. Going on holiday is definitely not an essential journey. Many of the people who are at UK railway stations and airports have every right to be there. As I live in tier 4 I am not able to venture in to assess them. But I was struck a couple of days after Christmas when I happened to see the half-dozen National Express coach departures at 12 noon from Victoria Coach Station. In total, I saw five passengers on board, so I believe many people are doing the right thing. But I have no doubt that others are not.

After the shambles on 19 December – which saw thousands of Londoners converge on mainline stations to get away before the capital entered tier 4 at midnight – the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said more British Transport Police would be deployed at terminals. Scottish police are increasing patrols near the border with England. But the authorities would find it impossible to check on everyone in a car, bus, train or ferry.

You specifically mention: “Airlines aren’t checking.” Airlines do not regard it as their responsibility to ensure that customers are entitled to travel under the prevailing laws: they assume, reasonably enough, that passengers will make the correct decision according to their circumstances about whether or not they are allowed to travel. And bear in mind that airports in tier 4 are open for passengers who are travelling from the other three tiers in England.

Odd though it may seem, they may legally enter tier 4 to reach Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted or one of the other airports in areas under the tightest restrictions.

Q For people who live in the UK, will an Irish passport allow freedom to travel in the EU? Or does the “90-day” rule apply after 1 January?

Lisa Bates-Wallis

A As soon as the British people voted in the 2016 referendum by a margin of nearly 52 to 48 to leave the European Union, there was a rush for Irish passports by people who either live in Northern Ireland or who have Irish heritage and live in Great Britain.

An EU passport is an extremely valuable document for anyone who seeks to travel, work and study without restriction in Europe. In contrast, the UK has chosen to accept strict limits on freedom, starting with a limit of 90 days in the EU in any 180 days for travel to the Schengen Area.

This frontier-free zone includes all the EU countries except Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania. Non-EU members Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican City also observe the 90-day restriction.

A good way to see what this means is to consider someone from the UK going to the Schengen Area on 1 January. They will be able to stay up to the end of March, but must then leave the zone and cannot return until the end of June. Another 90-day stay will take them to late September, whereupon they must leave and stay away until Christmas.

With an Irish passport, there are no such restrictions. Your country of residence is irrelevant, so you can live in the UK but travel anywhere you wish in the EU and stay as long as you like, studying or working if you wish, without restriction. And whatever some misguided folk may say, there is no need to worry about expiry dates; it is valid for travel anywhere else in the European Union up to and including the date of expiry.

The Irish travel document will also allow you to take advantage of visa-free deals that the EU has struck with individual countries and regions. For example, when the coronavirus crisis is over you will be able to travel to St Petersburg in Russia, and the region around it, with a free e-visa. This is not available to UK citizens.

Q I am British and have French nationality through marriage, with a French ID card, but not a passport. I read your advice to someone who has both UK and French passports. But can I travel to Europe on my French ID card, thus avoiding long queues, and come back to the UK on it? And if I use the French ID card will I be refused entry to Britain due to not having (or needing) settled status? An ID card is easier to carry, fits in your wallet and saves carrying extra things!

Richard S

A For the next nine months there is no problem whatsoever using your ID card to travel between the UK and the EU. You will, as you say, avoid the queues for “third country nationals” that the British are now obliged to use. And when you return to the UK, you will be able to use your ID card exactly as you have done for years.

You might think it wise to carry your British passport as well, but in your position I would not. Partly that is for reasons of security (travellers are still, regrettably, targeted by villains and the less you have to lose the better), and partly because using only one travel document means less chance of muddle when it comes to completing the advanced passenger information (API) that transport operators demand.

On returning home, I think it unlikely that you would be asked any searching questions about your legitimate right to be in the United Kingdom. If you were then I imagine it would take you about two minutes to explain your circumstances to the British frontier official. As you are a UK citizen, they will have no right to refuse you entry. The issue of “settled status” that many EU nationals have does not arise.

From 1 October, though, ID cards issued by European Union nations will no longer be accepted for travel to the UK. The government claims they are not sufficiently secure. While that might have been the case a decade ago, it certainly isn’t now. Many people see the decision as the government playing the xenophobia card once more – and yet another act of self-harm that will damage still further the British inbound tourism industry.

From then onwards you will need to use your British passport to re-enter the UK but can happily continue to exercise your freedom to travel without restriction within the EU using your French ID card. Congratulations. Just remember which document you use for each ticket.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder