Go to Europe, enjoy- but don’t forget to get your exit stamp!
Holidays in Europe are fantastic and Greece, Spain & Portugal, in particular, are so popular this year. However, it is essential to have your passport stamped on arrival and, even more importantly, to have it stamped showing your exit date clearly.
As one of the consequences of Brexit, UK citizens can stay in the EU for up to 90 days only. So if you can show when you arrived but not when you departed a bloody-minded jobsworth having an off day might reject your entry on a future journey in 3 months plus time – on the basis that according to your documents you have already exceeded the 90 days in the EU.
Unlikely maybe, but it has happened. If relations between the UK and EU deteriorate it could be the letter of the law, rather than the logic of the law, that might be applied.
Just on the same subject, remember your passport will usually be valid strictly for 10 years. The extension period of a few months no longer applies for travel to EU countries. (This may have been the case for passports issued before October 2018). Anyway, the extension months are no longer valid, plus your passport must have a minimum validity of at least 3 months from your return date to UK.
Increasingly, many EU countries are asking for proof of your accommodation throughout your stay, and, if not available, a demonstration of adequate funds to take you through until your intended departure.
Also, UK travellers cannot go through the quicker EU immigration channels. We now need to go through the “Other Nationals“ lines, which can be longer and with less staff. This is not putting people off travelling to the EU, far from it, but it is a reality we need to learn to live with. Airports with a majority of UK arrivals, such as the Costas in Spain, seem to be worse affected.
DK July 2022
“There’s no such thing as the best hotel, just the right one…”
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All price guides are Per Person Sharing Double Room (Entry level), based on travel between May and/or June when prices are generally at their lowest and include promotional offers.
Supplements will probably apply at other times, particularly mid-summer in the Med, and for rooms and/or transfers arranged for single travellers.
For example, the Caribbean and Indian Ocean prices for winter can be approximately double the May – June level and about 50% more in Asia.
For the Mediterranean & Canary Islands, Caribbean, Arabia and the Indian Ocean (except Sri Lanka) price guides generally include airfare and transfers.
*For Sri Lanka and Far East we show a per person per night hotel guide, excluding air fare, as arrangements tend to be individually tailored multi-centre itineraries.
Please refer to Travel Advice on our home page or look at www.fco.gov.uk as the Foreign Office may have issued specific destination information on safety and terrorism.
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