The Brexit 90-day Travel rule, Travelling in the EU and Schengen Zones Explained

With our Twilight policy you’re entitled to 90 days travel in Europe, and with our Horizon policy you’re entitled to 9-months travel in Europe. However, with the passing of Brexit there is now more regulation for UK citizens when travelling in Europe. In this blog we’ll explain the Schengen agreement, the countries that it includes, and how this affects travel in Europe.

 

What is the Schengen area?

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed by 29 EU countries creating an area of free borderless movement.

The 29 countries in the Schengen area are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The Schengen Visa policy means that non-EU citizens can stay in the Schengen area without a visa for up to a duration of 90 days within a 180-day period. This means that you can spend up to 90 days in any Schengen country or a combination of Schengen countries within a 180-day period, for anything beyond this you will require a visa for the country you are visiting.

 

An example of how the 90-day period works:

If you enter a Schengen country, for example France, on January 1^st and stayed in France for 30 days, this would mean that you have used up 30 days out of the 90-day allowance. From this point you will have 60 remaining over the 180-day period (This period will span from 1^st January – 29^th June.)

If after your 30 days in France you were to travel home to the UK for 3 days and then travel to Germany for an additional 30 days, 60 days in total would be used up of your 90 days. Days when you are not in a Schengen travel area will not count towards your 90-day allowance.

(It’s important to consider when travelling that each day you spend in a Schengen country will count towards the 90-day limit, regardless of whether you are staying in the country or travelling through it.)

If from Germany you wanted to travel through various Schengen countries for the remainder of the 30 days you would need to make sure by the end of the 30 day period you were:

a) Able to travel back home to the UK through the Schengen Zone before exceeding the 90-day limit

b) Or after completing the 90 day limit if you want to continue to travel you would need to go to a non-Schengen country. You could stay in this country or various non-Schengen countries until the start of a new 180-day Schengen period. (30th June.)

It’s essential to keep track of the duration of your travels so you do not exceed the 90 day travel limit, a helpful tool to track this is the Schengen calculator : Schengen Calculator – Calculate Your Legal Short-Stay in Europe (schengenvisainfo.com)

 

Areas we cover and whether they fall into the Schengen area.

Schengen
Austria	Great Britain
Belgium	Northern Ireland
Bulgaria	The Channel Islands
Croatia	Isle of man
Czech Republic	The Republic of Ireland
Denmark	Andorra
Estonia	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Finland	Cyprus
France (including Monaco)	Gibraltar
Germany	Serbia
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy (including San Marino and the Vatican City)
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

When travelling always check the entry requirements for any country you’re visiting to find out the rules and regulations. For more information on travelling to the EU and Schengen areas visit: https://www.gov.uk/travel-to-eu-schengen-area.

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