By Deb S - 26 Oct 20 10:14 AM
Morning everybody
Trust you all had a good weekend. The weather down in Kent certainly got pretty wintery and I'm sure this will lead to some of you thinking about warmer climes.
However, Priti Patel's announcement last week that "EU criminals could be banned from entering the UK under tighter border rules" has made many of us wonder whether the EU will consider implementing similar requirements for UK citizens travelling to the EU. We've just published a new advice post with our thoughts but let us know what you think.
Debs
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By AB2014 - 29 Oct 20 9:49 AM
+x+xMorning everybody Trust you all had a good weekend. The weather down in Kent certainly got pretty wintery and I'm sure this will lead to some of you thinking about warmer climes. However, Priti Patel's announcement last week that "EU criminals could be banned from entering the UK under tighter border rules" has made many of us wonder whether the EU will consider implementing similar requirements for UK citizens travelling to the EU. We've just published a new advice post with our thoughts but let us know what you think. Debs Debbie, I think the post (and the media comments) are slightly misleading. My understanding is that the rules for EU citizens entering the UK will be the same as those from outside the EU. They are not quite as draconian as presented and there is one important qualifier, namely that rehabilitation periods that will be considered. Over 4 years custodial = banned. Between 1 year and 4 years custodial = only if less than 10 years from end of sentence. Less than 1 year custodial = only if less than 5 years from end of sentence. So for anyone with less than 4 years custodial at least there is a point in time when they become eligible again (subject to passing all the other requirements). My personal view (shared in other threads), is that the EU is very unlikely to change the ETIAS rules for a single country (i.e the UK). My bigger concern if there is no agreement is that people who have travelled to the EU in the last few years find their data is still on the Schengen Information System and this, somehow, gets used by borer officials to decline entry and there will no longer be a legal right under freedom of movement.
According to the gov.uk website here, anyone who has been sentenced to 12 months or more will be banned. Anyone sentenced to less than 12 months or who has been convicted in the last 12 months might be allowed in, on a case-by-case basis. As you say, the EU is unlikely to change the ETIAS rules, but they might remove the UK's visa-free status. I realise that the revenue from UK tourists makes that unlikely, but they could always use the threat as a bargaining chip....
Once we lose access to the SIS, all information input by the UK should be deleted, as they will have no way of knowing whether it is out-of-date, and their own laws prevent them from processing inaccurate information. Of course, any SIS alerts may well be replaced by Interpol green notices. There's still the Common Travel Area with the Republic of Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man if you're desperate to travel outside the UK.
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