EU and UK Tighten Border Rules: What New Zealand Travellers Must Know
The UK and the EU are rolling out new digital border systems. Here is what changes for visa-free travellers heading to Britain and the Schengen Area.
The UK and the EU are rolling out new digital border systems. Here is what changes for visa-free travellers heading to Britain and the Schengen Area.
Travelling to Europe changed after Brexit, and ABTA's advice now reads like a checklist: confirm your passport meets the rules, understand the 90/180 limit, and prepare for the EU's new border systems. Here is what UK travellers should tick off before departure.
At the start of 2026, ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer set out five challenges the travel sector must meet head-on, from the EU's new border systems to pricing rules and the rise of AI. Several, he argued, are also opportunities for growth.
Travelling in 2026 is set to become harder, pricier and more bureaucratic, from biometric borders in Europe to new fees on both sides of the Atlantic. Here is a plain-language guide to what is changing and how to plan around it.
Each year ABTA has a presence at World Travel Market to stay in touch with members and the wider industry. At this year's WTM in London, the programme combines a 75th-anniversary celebration, fresh Holiday Habits research and a practical session on EES and ETIAS.
From 12 October, British travellers to the European Union face a new layer of border formality as the Entry/Exit System begins its long-delayed rollout. Here is a plain-language guide to what changes, why there is so much confusion, and how ETIAS fits in.
Despite a headline e-gates agreement at the EU-UK summit, British travellers were told they would face passport-stamping queues in the EU until at least October 2025, with access phased in over six months. Here is what the deal actually delivered.
EU home affairs ministers have backed a revised timeline that brings the Entry/Exit System (EES) into operation first, in October 2025, with ETIAS expected to follow in the last quarter of 2026. The phased approach gives borders and travellers time to adjust.
From 2 April 2025, European visitors to the UK have to buy an Electronic Travel Authorisation before they travel, as Britain screens arrivals before they reach the border. Here is what the new requirement means in practice.
British visitors will not need an ETIAS travel permit for the EU and wider Schengen Area until April 2027 at the earliest. The delay follows a decision to roll out the Entry/Exit System gradually from October 2025 rather than all at once.