Enlarge image
Heathrow Airport: For people from the EU, Brexit means that freedom of movement in Great Britain is a thing of the past
Photo: Andrew Cowie / dpa
If you travel to the USA more often, you have to do a lot beforehand: a tourist visa, questionnaires, security check, passport are at least necessary for a visit overseas.
The requirements have been tightened since the noughties.
For Europeans this is annoying and now unusual - citizens from 27 EU countries are largely free to travel without bureaucratic hurdles.
Now entering the UK could become more complicated for holidaymakers and business travelers from the EU.
After the country left the European Union, higher entry requirements will soon be decided.
Close up: Minister Pratel
Photo:
Alastair Grant / AP
As the British Interior Minister Priti Patel announced, entry permits based on the US model are to be introduced for visa-free travel in the future.
The only exceptions are Irish citizens and people residing in Great Britain.
It is about recording who is in the country and who is exceeding the permitted length of stay, said Patel in a keynote address on Monday.
In addition, the applicants should be subjected to a security check.
Pratel against "broken entry regulations"
The new regulation, which should come into force by 2025, is part of a larger program. With this, the conservative politician wants to fundamentally reform what she believes is "broken" entry regulations in the country. How much the applications should cost in the future and whether they have to be submitted individually for each trip, Patel has not yet been able to answer.
However, British citizens who travel to the Schengen zone will also have to apply for a permit in the coming year. However, it is valid for up to three years and for several trips. With the final completion of Brexit at the turn of the year, EU citizens can travel to Great Britain for tourism purposes for up to six months. If you want to live and work there, you need a visa. Exceptions are EU citizens who entered the country by the end of 2020 and applied for the right to stay by the end of June 2021 at the latest.
Among other things, Patel is also planning changes to the law to make it impossible for people who have entered the country illegally to obtain asylum.
In fact, only people would be entitled to asylum who come to Great Britain as part of an admission program and family reunification.
The UN refugee organization UNHCR had already heavily criticized the plans in advance and warned that London risked a violation of the UN refugee convention.
sug / dpa-AFX
