Drivers must remove GB car stickers when in Europe under Brexit travel changes

The British government asked the United Nations to change car stickers from GB to UK

Travellers to and from the UK face significant changes this week because of post-Brexit moves by the government.

British motorists heading for Continental Europe must “cover or remove” the traditional GB sticker, and instead use either a UK sticker or have a UK “signifier” on their number plates.

The requirement – requested by UK ministers – contradicts the government’s assertion in January that “UK drivers won’t need to display a GB sticker in most EU countries if their number plate has GB or GB with a Union Flag on it”.

At the time the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “Those who want to drive in the EU can continue to do so with ease.”

Now the government says: “You will need to display a UK sticker clearly on the rear of your vehicle if your number plate has any of the following: a GB identifier with the Union flag; a Euro symbol; a national flag of England, Scotland or Wales; numbers and letters only - no flag or identifier.

“If you have a GB sticker, cover or remove it before driving outside the UK.”

In June, the UK government applied to the United Nations for the change to be made under the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Changing the national identifier from GB to UK symbolises our unity as a nation and is part of a wider move towards using the UK signifier across government.”

In Spain, Cyprus or Malta, a UK sticker is now mandatory regardless of the number plates.

British drivers in Ireland need not display a national signifier.

For Europeans hoping to travel to Britain, a Brexit promise to end the right for EU citizens to use their national identity cards to travel to the UK also takes effect from Friday, 1 October.

In a speech on her “New Plan for Immigration” in May 2021, the home secretary, Priti Patel, said: “This year, we will end the use of insecure ID cards for people to enter our country.”

In the past, some European Union nations have issued laminated identity cards that were relatively easy to forge or tamper with.

But since August 2021 all new ID cards issued by EU countries must follow a common pattern. They will comply with the highest security standards, as prescribed by the UN International Civil Aviation Organisation, which requires them to be machine readable and to contain a microchip with the holder’s details.

EU citizens – and those of the wider European Economic Area plus Switzerland – can travel to all European countries except the UK on their national identity cards.

In addition citizens of some EU nations, including France, Germany, Italy and Portugal, can use ID cards to visit Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey.

The UK government is closing the border to an estimated 250 million citizens in Europe who have national identity cards but not passports.

The move comes after the UK was revealed as the major European country with the greatest collapse in inbound tourism. In July and August 2021, just 14 per cent of the visitor numbers for the corresponding months in 2019 arrived.

Joss Croft, chief executive of the industry body, UKinbound, said: “Pre-pandemic the UK’s inbound tourism industry was the jewel in our crown.

“Today the industry sits in tatters, desperate to rebuild but facing barrier upon barrier as it tries to recover.”

Ireland issues a “passport card” but not a national identity card. Irish citizens are not required to carry passports between the republic and the UK, though some airlines demand them.