New EU Border Rules Set to Impact UK Skiers Next Season
28th August 2024
Last modified on August 29th, 2024
Whether you take a 1-week holiday, go multiple times or are fortunate enough to own a property here are the facts you need to know for next winter.
On November 10th 2024 the new Entry/Exit System, EES, is set to be introduced by the EU.
Under the scheme, people entering an EU country from non-EU countries, including the UK, will need to register fingerprints and a photo with their passport details in order to be able to proceed with travel.
Every time people enter or exit a participating European country this will be recorded and once travellers have given their fingerprints and details, that registration will be valid for three years.
The November date may be delayed, but if it remains it will have consequences for skiers and snowboarders.
It had previously been rescheduled for May 2023, then the end of 2023.
As the UK voted for Brexit back in 2016 there are now implications for us Brit skiers and snowboarders who go to the mountain ranges in Europe as we are outside European arrangements.
The impact for most is the short-term delays we will likely face as the new rules finally come into force.
We have reported on the issue:
For those UK residents lucky enough to take multiple trips to the mountains or own a property the new arrangements and deadlines set could have a significant impact.
UK residents are allowed to spend 90 days out of 180 in the EU and Schengen areas.
The key thing is when does the 180-day clock start ticking.
As we understand the situation if you chose to start it in November then, it goes through to May.
Only 90-days allowed in the mountains across the winter.
If you chose to delay the start of the clock ticking this season until February 2025 then you can have 90 before February, and 90 after in subsequent years.
180-days in the mountains across the winter.
In short, the whole winter ski season, with the ‘90 out of 180’ rule having little impact.
We await exact clarification of when the clocks starts ticking and will update when a definitive answer is provided.
Here at PlanetSKI we ski across the whole winter so we’ll likely be delaying our first entry to Europe this winter to Europe as we take a long-term view.
We will have our reporters across the mountains of Europe in the early months so our coverage will remain the same, but PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, will likely not visit Europe at the start of the season.
“Every cloud has a silver lining and we are making plans to visit Japan for the first half of the winter, and possibly Canada too before returning to Europe once the season is underway.
“Plus, there is hopefully skiing in Scotland on the odd weeks available.
“Andorra is available, but it can only access it via Spain or France and that sets the 180-day clock ticking, though days in the Principality do not count to the 90 days.”
Andorra/France border. Image © PlanetSKI
“For anyone that owns a property in the mountains or want to ski the whole season, the decision you make when to go for the first time this winter is a very important one with some long-term consequences,” added James.
This week the UK government unveiled financial assistance for the new situation.
It is proving £10.5m worth of funding to prepare for new EU border checks this autumn.
See more her on the BBC.
