The Government want to ensure that UK nationals are informed and prepared to travel to the EU in the run up to, and after, Brexit on 31 October.
There are essentially 4 things travellers need to do to prepare for Brexit:
- Check your passport is valid for travel to Europe
- Get travel insurance that provides healthcare
- Check you have the right driving documents
- Arrange pet travel with your vet at least 4 months before you travel
This applies both if you’re a tourist or travelling for business. Business travel includes activities such as travelling for meetings and conferences, providing services (even with a charity), and touring art or music.
There are extra actions you may need to take if you’re travelling for business.
Check your passport is valid for travel to Europe
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal the rules for how much time you’ll need on your passport to travel to Europe will change.
Use this service to check if you need to renew your passport before travelling to Europe.
Get travel insurance that provides healthcare
You should always get appropriate travel insurance with healthcare cover before you go abroad.
After Brexit your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) card may not be valid.
It’s particularly important you get travel insurance with the right cover if you have a pre-existing medical condition. This is because the EHIC scheme covers pre-existing conditions, while many travel insurance policies do not.
Check you have the right driving documents
There may be changes after Brexit. What these are depend on how you’re travelling.
You’ll need an international driving permit (IDP) to drive in some countries.
Arrange pet travel with your vet at least 4 months before you travel
After Brexit you will not be able to use the existing pet passport scheme.
Instead you’ll need to follow a different process, which takes 4 months.