Brexit is now formalized and has been in place since January 1, 2021. With it, the conditions for entry into the United Kingdom have changed. Certain conditions of entry and residence in the UK have changed or will change briefly over the next few months.
No ESTA before 2025
While the ESTA principle (identical to that required to enter the US) is not expected to be in place before 2025, the documents required to enter the US are evolving.
On the return of the United Kingdom, and therefore on entry into the European Union, the rules of customs tolerance change. You will therefore have to declare to customs officials any shipment exceeding :
- 16 litres of beer
- 4 litres of non-sparkling wine
- 1 litre of Drink containing more than 22 degrees of alcohol
- 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 250 grams of smoking tobacco or 50 cigars
- A value of 430 euros of unpackaged miscellaneous goods
October 1, 2021, milestone date
Depending on whether you enter the territory before or after October 1, 2021 at 00:00 a.m., things will be different.
- Before October 1, 2021
The common case for citizens of European Union countries, Switzerland or the European Economic Area is that a national identity card issued by one of the member countries is sufficient to enter the territory, as has been the case since 1973. These people can no longer settle in the United Kingdom and cannot stay there for more than 6 months.
Medical care is not evolving. Any care that is "urgent and cannot wait to leave British soil" is paid for by the NHS without advance payment or the need to present the European Health Insurance Card. For other care, the European Health Insurance Card is no longer valid in the United Kingdom, so it is advisable to take out specific health insurance for this non-urgent care.
Of course, the passport remains valid and its date of validity must run for the full period of its intended presence on Her Majesty's most gracious lands.
With a pet, for the time being, things remain the same as they were before:
- An EU pet passport (issued in the EU or the UK before 1 January 2021)
- HCA issued in the UK (which you can use up to 4 months after issue)
- A UK pet health certificate (for travel within the UK only)
The good news is that the driving licence of an EU Member State remains valid.
The duty-free allowances ( possibility to import or export goods for non-commercial purposes ) are evolving. As no specific agreement with the European Union has been concluded, the rules of ordinary law will apply. You will not be able to enter the United Kingdom without declaring any carriage of more than
- 42 litres of beer
- 18 litres of non-sparkling wine
- 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco or 200 cartons of electronic cigarettes
- A value of £270 worth of miscellaneous packaged goods
This is until such time as possible agreements between the United Kingdom and the European Union are put in place.
- After October 1, 2021
The current case will be reversed. Regardless of the country of origin or provenance of travellers, it will be necessary to present a passport valid at the time of entry and throughout the stay in the United Kingdom.
A priori, health care should not evolve either, while constantly maintaining the logic of "urgent care" alone paid for by the NHS.
Similarly, for pets, no regulatory changes are planned.
Again, an EU Member State driving licence remains valid for driving a car on UK roads.
Special case of the Channel Islands
The Common Travel Area (CTA), consisting of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey remains. Thus, the same procedures for access to these territories will apply.
If you transit through one of these territories to another CTA territory, you will be considered to have previously passed customs controls and will not have to pass them again.
In other words, coming from France. You will carry out the customs formalities in Jersey for example, you will be given a "" blank check You must send a "certificate" to the authorities of the next CTA country certifying that you have completed the reporting formalities. Be careful, this does not release you from hoisting flag Q (customs application), just from carrying out accelerated formalities. Please note, if you are refused entry to one of the CTA member states for any reason whatsoever, you cannot present yourself to another state during the same journey.
Things can still change
As you know, the novelty of this trip is that agreements between countries change abruptly and frequently, so although we are taking steps to correct this article, if necessary, as changes occur, it is important before embarking for one of the territories concerned to check with the authorities of the territory in question.
You can call the following administrative departments if you have any questions.
- For England: +44 135 535 9022
- For Scotland: +44 300 200 3300
- For Northern Ireland: +44 300 200 3300
- For Ireland: +353 1-7383685
- For the Isle of Man: +44 1624 648130
- For Wales: +44 300 200 3300
- For Jersey: +44 1534 448000
- For Guernsey: +44 01481 741431
- For France: 0811 204 444 or +33 1 72 40 78 50
