European Economic Area and Switzerland’s residents will show their authentic passports instead of their Identity cards while landing in the UK. This is official news by the UK government. The implementation of this restriction will be from 1st October 2021.
The government announced that the above-mentioned state’s residents will not be allowed to land in the UK without their passports. There will be no approval with just an identity card.
Requirements for the relaxation of this restriction
Although this is a strict rule announced by the UK government, some travelers will be free from this rule. Those travelers must fulfill the following requirements to get relaxation from this rule:
- Travelers with settled position
Travelers who have been awarded pre-settled or settled positions under the EU Settlement Scheme will be exempted from this restriction. They can enter the UK by showing their identity cards.
- Travelers who have applied for EU settlement scheme
Travelers who have submitted their application for the EU settlement scheme will be free from this restriction. It does not matter whether their application got verified or not. If they are waiting for the verification of the application, they will still be allowed to enter with an identity card.
- Travelers with an EU settlement scheme family permit
Those passengers from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland, if having EU settlement family permits will get an exemption from this too. They will be permitted to enter the state via an identity card.
- Travelers having an authentic work permit from the Frontier worker permit scheme
Travelers with a work permit from the Frontier worker permit scheme are included in the list of exempted travelers.
- Travelers are allowed to obtain scheduled healthcare in the UK under the “S2 agreement”
These individuals can also enter the UK with an id card even after the 1st of October 2021.
- Ireland’s residents
Those travelers who are residents of Ireland will also be permitted to enter the UK with an ID card. There will be no restriction to show the passport.
While the UK was a member of the European Union, visitors from the EU and EEA states were allowed to enter the country with only an identity card as proof of identity. This was by EU rules and regulations that allow visitors from the EU and Schengen countries. The motive was to freely travel to each other’s territory with such a right of connectivity. In conclusion, such regulations will no longer be viable. The new entry rules will be announced soon.
The data of entry was banned this year
According to the statistics released by the Home Office, 3,294 EU residents were denied entry to the UK during the first quarter of this year.
Only 494 EU individuals were blocked from entering the UK in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 2020 when airline traffic was greater.
Additionally, several actions have been observed that are incompatible with the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Earlier, it was noted that a large number of EU residents who applied for settled status in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) were facing deportation.
They were facing such issues regardless of the UK government’s assurance. The assurance that EU nationals who could prove they applied for settled status before June 30 would have their rights guaranteed.
EU Settlement scheme
EU Settlement Scheme comes to an end by reaching the final deadline. The UK has been able to secure the rights of more than 6 million EU citizens. A total of 5.4 million applicants are granted status. Now EU citizens will be required to hold an ID issued by the UK government instead of showing the EU ID or Passport. UK set more time for the EU citizens to be settled in the UK (2019-2021) instead of EU countries that only ran the settlement scheme for the UK citizens for about a year. Read here for complete information..