{"id":13174,"date":"2025-07-08T09:35:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T08:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyparksecure.com\/blog\/?p=13174"},"modified":"2026-06-01T11:34:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T10:34:03","slug":"how-will-brexit-affect-my-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skyparksecure.com\/blog\/how-will-brexit-affect-my-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Travel to Europe: Passport, Visa, EHIC & Driving FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The United Kingdom has officially left the EU with a deal that will influence the future relationship between the two parties. Are you unsure of what is included in the new deal? Fear not! We have a whole post dedicated to giving you all the information you will need for holiday travel to Europe.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that all travel to the Republic of Ireland will remain the same and citizens can continue to travel within the Common Travel Area. This includes the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Ireland and the Isle of Man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do I Need a Visa?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A lot of the questions travellers have at the moment relate to whether we will need a visa to visit European countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travelling as a tourist you will only be allowed to visit the EU for up to 90 days in every 180-day period visa-free. These circumstances will apply more to business travel rather than holiday travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certain countries have different rules with the 90 day allowance; Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania. You can travel to these countries for 90 days, and still have your 90 days allowance for the rest of the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will need a visa or permit to stay for longer, to work or study, or for business travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to worry though, if you intend to stay in the EU for longer you can apply for the ETIAS<\/a> (European Travel Information and Authorisation System). This will cost €20 although the fee is waived for applicants under 18 and those over 70 years old. It is similar to the US visa-waiver scheme and will be valid for 3 years from purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What About My Passport?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The change in colour that has become mandatory is the fancy new blue passport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, more importantly, there are also a number of European passport entry changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, you will be required to have a minimum of six months left on your passport<\/strong> whenever you travel; this is for both adult and child passports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing that is still catching out customers even a number of years after leaving the European Union are the passport entry changes. It’s important to understand that any remaining time you had left on your old passport before you applied for a new one no longer applies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that if you received your new passport in September 2016, but the expiry of your old passport wasn’t until December 2016, the 3 months would have been added to your new passport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, these extra 3 months are no longer permitted, so in actual fact your passport would expire in September 2026 (on the basis of a 10 year adult passport). Given that some people renew their passport up to 6 months early, this is catching out a lot of people when booking holidays, who essentially have a 9½ year passport to hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the uncertainty about the change in passport entry for Europe, a lot of customers have reported being turned away at boarding as their passport is now technically out of date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now recommend you check your passport<\/a> way ahead of travel, and apply for a new one as soon as possible if you are going to be hit by the passport expiry issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EHIC vs GHIC card?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The UK is now phasing out the EHIC card in favour of the GHIC (global health insurance) card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s the difference?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The GHIC<\/strong> allows you the use of hospital treatment that locals are entitled to. This means you aren’t charged massive fees for a stay in hospital and will pay the same rate as residents. In some cases this may be free, but that depends on the health system of the country you visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EHIC<\/strong> was solely for the purpose of using in the EU, but the GHIC means you can do this worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is still advised that you ALWAYS take out comprehensive insurance for your holiday, as the GHIC doesn’t include the following things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n