There are changes to travel to the European Union for British citizens starting this October, and the Migration Advisory Committee has reported that the Graduate visa route should stay.
Changes to Travel to the EU for British Citizens Starting This October
The European Union's (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) is a new digital border system that had been intended to start in 2022. Reports suggest that it will now to start on October 6, 2024. The EES official website says the start date is "TBC," but the media reports that it will start on October 6 subject to member states confirming they are ready.
The EES will apply to British citizens and other non-EU citizens (such as U.S., Canadian, and Australian nationals) who do not require a prior visitor visa to travel to Europe as well as to holders of short-stay visas. It will apply when they travel to the EU (except from Cyprus and Ireland where manual passport border checks will continue), the European Economic Area (EEA) (Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland), and Switzerland. There will be two main implications when the EES starts in October for those affected:
- Photo and fingerprints. A digital photo and fingerprints must be provided at the port when a traveler arrives in the EU/EEA/Switzerland for the first time. Travelers need not be alarmed by this but should expect a delay when passing through immigration control. Once the photo and fingerprints have been provided, on future trips the traveler should have a quicker and easier journey because automated "self-service systems" at border control areas will mean manual passport stamping is no longer required; and
- Electronic monitoring. The EES will electronically monitor whether the traveler stays more than 90 days in any 180-day period within the EU/EEA/Switzerland area. Once implemented, travelers in the European area will need to be more wary than ever about overstaying the 90 days. Where the maximum stay is exceeded, this can lead to entry bans for the whole of the EU/EEA/Switzerland. Equally, when making a journey, it is expected that border control officers will have information about the number of permitted days remaining for each traveler, who will only be allowed entry for the remaining days.
The European Travel Information and Authorisation System
The EES is separate from the upcoming European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which is expected to start in mid-2025 (the exact start date is unknown). It will apply to non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who are able to enter the EU visa-free—including British citizens. The ETIAS will mean that affected travelers will need to apply for pre-travel authorization, in much the same way as required by the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization and the UK's Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme.
Government's Independent Advisory Body Reports That Graduate Visa Route Should Stay
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has for many years advised the government on UK immigration policy. On March 11, 2024, the government asked the MAC to review the Graduate visa route, including in terms of "[a]ny evidence of abuse of the route including the route not being fit for purpose."
The MAC has now released its report and said, "After reviewing the evidence, our conclusion is clear. The Graduate route has broadly achieved, and continues to achieve, the objectives set by this government. We therefore recommend that the route remains in place in its current form."
This is good news for students and employers. The Graduate route provides a two-year work visa for those who complete a bachelor's or master's degree at a United Kingdom university, or a three-year visa if they complete a PhD. It serves as a useful "bridge" for employers to recruit graduates and then consider whether they will sponsor them under the Skilled Worker route. That said, it remains to be seen whether the government will follow the advice of the MAC or follow through on restricting the route by, for example, limiting the visa to six months and perhaps making it only for graduates in certain subjects, if not deleting it altogether.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.