Britons will need £6 permit to visit EU

BRITISH holidaymakers will have to pay more than £6 every three years to secure permission to travel to EU countries after Brexit.

The fee will cover the cost of a new document that travellers will need after 2021.

At the moment Britons are free to go anywhere in the EU because the UK is a member. After Brexit, Britain will join a list of non-EU countries which can travel within the union’s Schengen zone for up to 90 days without a visa.

However, due to the migration crisis and security concerns, the EU is introducing stricter controls over the movement of people from countries on the list. The new system, known as the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), is an electronic form that will be the equivalent of the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) process in the US.

Anyone aged between 1 and 70 who wants to visit EU countries for up to 90 days will have to apply for the document, which will cost 7 euros (£6.30). The EU says the ETIAS system will include ‘a detailed security check of each applicant’.

The form, which is expected to come into force in 2021, will take around 10 minutes to fill out. It will last for three years. It will also apply to the 61 other non-EU countries who have special travel arrangements with the union.