After Brexit I'm sure there will be visa-free travel to and from the EU for UK and EU citizens for holidays and business trips.

I'm curious, however, to find out whether the UK government (and maybe the EU in retaliation) adds any form of caveat about 'serious criminals' as they do to non-EU nationals today.

Lionel Messi - 2+ years custodial for tax evasion (albeit allowed to pay a fine rather than jail time)
Christiano Ronaldo - as above.

Wonder whether they would be banned from travelling after 2020?

Guess they will have both retired to count their millions by then, but interesting thought nevertheless.

On the subject of UK immigration, the Unlock page on travelling to the UK here is quite interesting. Unless Messi has a Spanish passport in addition to his Argentine passport, he should be banned from entry to the UK until 10 years after the end of the sentence. A similar thing happened to Serge Aurier, who couldn't enter the UK to play in the Champions League as he was subject to a suspended sentence. Once his appeal converted it to a fine, he was allowed in. If we keep the same arrangements, then holders of passports from EU member states won't be affected, but if we end up using the same arrangements as non-EU citizens, then Cristiano Ronaldo would also be banned from the UK until 10 years after the end of the sentence. As tax evasion appears to be a crime involving moral turpitude (and millions of euros in unpaid taxes would appear to be serious), then they might both be criminally inadmissible to the US.

On the subject of "non-serious" criminals, many EU countries don't record less serious crimes on a person's record forever, and even where they do, they often allow for deletion after a certain period. Of course, if we lose access to the various computer systems, and it's looking like we might, then the checks on UK citizens will be tougher than the checks on EU citizens. Visa-free travel? I suspect a no-deal Brexit is closer and more likely than many people would like to admit. We could always say that we never really left the EEA, we just upgraded in 1973, and now the upgrade is ending, so we can automatically go back to EEA status unless we specifically opt out of it, so we should still have freedom of movement.


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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

Without going into too much detail, I was talking to someone working for the government as part of the Brexit legal team. He was saying that a 'No-deal Brexit' is much more likely than ever before. We were talking about travel and he said that it was his opinion that travel to the EU will likely require a full visa initially, with the possibility of implementation of a reciprocal agreement being possible in the future. As the government can't even agree on the basics from our side - I think this makes sense. The only down-side will be that anyone with a conviction will not be admissible to the EU

As the EU are already planning to introduce ETIAS (travel authorisation for the Schengen zone similar to US ESTA) for visitors from non-EU countries, I suspect the UK will probably fall within the remit of that scheme. I can't believe, given the sheer volume of people travelling between the UK and EU for business and holidays, that a full visa programme would be introduced.

What I can anticipate are some limitations on ETIAS e.g. if you have a 'serious' criminal record you may have to go down the visa route.  Again, I can't believe there would be constraints on 'less serious' convictions as the scheme would become bogged down with checks and certificates..

I remain concerned but optimistic!

If there's one life lesson the criminal justice system has taught me, it's hope for the best but prepare for the worst....   I agree that a no-deal Brexit is very possible, and getting more possible each day. They can't extend the negotiation period to get a last-minute deal, because they have a deadline in place to get the deal approved by all the member states, plus the European Parliament. I wonder how that well-known MEP Farage will vote.



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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

Not great news in the Brexit White Paper today. Very little info apart from immigration for tourism.

"The UK therefore proposes reciprocal visa-free travel arrangements to enable UKand EU citizens to continue to travel freely for tourism in the future, maintaining theclose links between the people of the UK and the EU."
Good news

"The UK already has existing arrangements with low-risk, non-EU countries that enable smooth access at the border, such as the Registered Traveller Scheme in place with a number of countries like the US and Japan. The UK wants to agree reciprocal arrangements with the EU that ensure smooth passage for UK nationals when they travel to the EU, for example on business or on holiday. The UK will strengthen the security of its borders, which should include exploring whether to apply the electronic travel authorities proposed for third country nationals to each other’s nationals, and ensuring travel documents meet minimum security standards.But at the border, as now, tourists and business visitors should not routinely have to face questions about the purpose of their visit. The UK also wants to minimise administrative burdens for those seeking permission to travel, enter or reside in each other’s territories, including short, simple and user-friendly application processes."  

Bad news - Suggests they will mirror the EU's ETIAS arrangements which i'm sure we were all hoping wouldn't apply to UK citizens. Doesn't seem to be any appetite for negotiating an exclusion.

I would suggest the best hope now is the EU reaffirm the four freedoms are non-divisible and we're told we either take the full package (including FoM) or nothing.

I'd forgotten about this, but if the UK signs an Association Agreement with the EU, then UK citizens have the same rights as citizens of EU member states. It's called the Kolpak ruling, and it's normally applied to sports, but it applies across the board. Let's see if we sign an agreement that counts as an Association Agreement. I realise it's only Wikipedia, but you can read about it here and here. I'll leave all the technical stuff to you guys to research.

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

I don't think that applies here. First you need to be legally working. South Africa for instance has an association agreement but workers from South Africa first need to have a visa before they can benefit from the Kolpak ruling.

I thought that at first, but the Wikipedia entry just says "citizens of countries which have signed European Union Association Agreements have the same right to freedom of work and movement within the EU as EU citizens". The rule is applied slightly differently in the UK, mainly due to government resistance to immigration. Individual agreements may have agreed restrictions, so it comes down to what is agreed.

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If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries. (George Bernard Shaw)

I'm thinking that this all sounds pretty negative - 5.11, 5.12, 5.13 all pretty much points to a desire to keep the existing sharing systems but with none of the requirements to freedom of movement.

Get your European holidays in sooner rather than later people!