“Have you been counting the days you have been in Europe, sir?”
I was at Vaclav Havel Airport, about to depart Prague, following a recently completed project when I was finally introduced to the consequences of Brexit. I handed my passport over to border control and the police officer took a suspiciously long time reviewing it.
‘Have you been counting the days you have been in Europe, sir?’ He asked.
“No, I haven’t,” I replied.
‘Well, I have. And you are 12 days over your limit!’
I was so confused at this point, but from his look and tone, I believed him.‘You must go to the door on my left and wait for a reply.’ He ordered, handing my passport back and waving the next passenger in line towards him.
I went over to the door and quickly knocked on it. Another policeman emerged and handed me a piece of paper. He then sat me down and took my passport whilst I began reading. The piece of paper was a list of new rules for UK passport holders in Europe. The policeman with mine returned after about 10 minutes.
‘You have spent more than 90 days in Prague, sir!’ He told me plainly, flapping my semi-useless burgundy book at me.
“I thought I was allowed to be in Europe for 90 consecutive days?”
‘No.’
He explained how wrong my information was. Luckily, as this was my first offence, the penalty was to pay a fine of 1000 Koruna, which equates to about £40.
‘Do you have one thousand Koruna, sir?’
“No, I’m afraid I have just changed my money over.”
He studied me for a moment.
‘Do you have a card to get Koruna?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow.
I nodded, so he escorted me out of the immigration area to the arrivals area and marched me over to a cash machine (a pleasant, friendly march, but a march nonetheless).
On the way to the cash machine, he explained that some apps allow you to keep track of how many days you have been in Europe. He suggested that I get it before returning to Prague. I agreed and downloaded it that evening. I withdrew the fee, and we marched back to the passport control area, where he took the fine, and my passport back through his office door.
After another 10 minutes, a female officer emerged and handed me a receipt for my fine, with a smile. As she gave me the receipt, she kindly asked that I refrain from doing this again, as the consequences could be a 5-year travel ban in Prague and the rest of Europe! I assured her that this would be the last time!
So, all UK travellers, please be aware of these restrictions. There are three recommendations I would advise you to look into if you need to work in Europe for an extended period.
They are –
- Download the Schengen 90/180 Day app. This will allow you to track your days in Europe and ensure you do not overstay your welcome! (possible outbound link)
- Get a secondary UK passport, which you can do online. This would extend your stay to the full 180 days but no more. You must leave the country on your first passport and you can return using your second.
- Check your ancestry to see if you are lucky enough to have an Irish grandfather. If so, use those details to apply for an Irish passport! This means you can stay as long as you like (just like it used to be!)
More important lessons were learned on this trip to Prague. The new rules for British travellers are confusing, possibly by design, so please double-check your day allowance if you are working abroad. The second lesson is one I have adhered to my entire career but it is worth mentioning – always be polite to airport security! They are the people who decide whether you fly or not!
Oh, and one, final thing. If you voted for Brexit, please send me your address so I can send you the bill for my fine!! Payments and other queries can be handled via our contact page.
