Skiing in Andorra Unaffected by Post-Brexit Border Rules
11th January 2024
Last modified on January 14th, 2024
It is possible to ski for as long as you want per season in Andorra. All the other ski nations in Europe are in EU or Schengen so Brits can only spend 90 days out of 180 within their borders.
The Brexit deal agreed by the UK government means that British people who spend a lot of time in Europe – skiing or otherwise – have to count their days carefully as free movement has gone.
For skiers and snowboarders who like to spend winter out in the mountains of Europe this is generally not now possible.
One such person is PlanetSKI’s, James Cove, who keeps a close tally on his number of days.
He is now in Andorra and Brits are welcome for as long as they want each winter.
The days within the borders of the Principality in the Pyrenees are not counted in the total number of days spent on the slopes of the other European ski nations.
Visitors need to get their passports stamped as they leave France or Spain to enter Andorra, and then again when they leave and enter the EU heading back into France or Spain.
Andorra/France border. Image © PlanetSKI
“It is a very simple process and I parked my car by French customs and walked into the building where an official stamped my passport to show I has left the EU,” said James.
“They were completely used to it and the customs officials stamp UK passports on a regular basis.”
The company Andorra Travel Service takes 10,000 skiers to Andorra each winter and its vehicles stop especially for UK citizens to get their passport stamped.
“It only adds a few minutes to people’s journey-time and many are delighted they are not using up their allowance,” said the MD of Andorra Travel Service, Iain Archer.
Regular readers will know PlanetSKI is a big fan of skiing in Andorra, and we think it is rather overlooked and slightly misunderstood by some.
It has changed significantly in the last decade with huge improvements to the lift system, the accommodation and much else besides.
It has a reputation for being for beginners and intermediates only – not so in our opinion.
We are currently writing a rolling blog about our time in the Pyrenees:
We will be posting a full article on our current stay shortly.
In the meantime, we have found another good reason to come to Andorra.
It doesn’t count to the number of days we can ski in Europe each winter.
Grandvaliria, Andorra. Image © PlanetSKI
