{"id":33294,"date":"2019-01-04T15:49:01","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T15:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/?p=33294"},"modified":"2021-06-13T15:17:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T14:17:57","slug":"the-death-of-the-year-long-motorhome-tour-of-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourtour.co.uk\/home\/the-death-of-the-year-long-motorhome-tour-of-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"The Death of the Year Long Motorhome Tour of Europe?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last updated 12 January 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up until now, Ju and I have enjoyed what was, unbeknownst to us, a level of European motorhome touring freedom which is about to end. We’ve been lucky enough to spend years touring the continent, with the only restriction on our movement being the need to come back to the UK for a yearly MOT. Once the UK leaves the EU (Brexit), that freedom will come to an end, and future year-long motorhome tours of the continent will have to change for UK citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Melkevoll<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Eh? What’s Going On?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brexit will mean our rights to stay in the ‘Schengen Area’ countries across Europe will be curtailed to 90 days in any 180 (described well for non-resident ex-pats in France here<\/a>). If your motorhome tours in Continental Europe are never for more than 3 months in any 6 months (90 days in a rolling 180 days), you can stop reading now. If, however, you like the idea of roaming about Europe for many months at a time, prick your ears up, you might be in for a shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following on from the UK General Election on 13 Dec 2019, the Conservative Party now has a large majority in government, and it looks very likely that the UK will leave the EU with a withdrawal agreement on 31 Jan 2020. Assuming the withdrawal agreement is in place, then a ‘transition period’ will follow, which will end on either 31 Dec 2020 or potentially as late as 31 Dec 2022 if an extension is agreed (but the UK government is currently adamant the transition period will only be 11 months long). During the transition period all of the EU’s current laws will apply to the UK, and our freedom to travel Europe as EU citizens will continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the transition period, the 90-in-180 day rule will kick in, so probably 1 January 2021. After that point UK citizens will be restricted to 90 in 180 days inside the Schengen Area. There will be some additional changes too around Pet Passports, IDPs, Insurance Green Cards, EHICs and so on. For the latest situation, keep an eye on the government website: www.gov.uk\/visit-europe-brexit<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where’s this Schengen Area Anyway?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is the Schengen Area map (thanks to wikipedia<\/a>). The countries in the Schengen Area are in blue, and are currently as follows (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania aren’t yet members but are legally obliged to join):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Exactly will This Affect Me?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once Brexit is complete (the transition period is over), the border authorities in the Schengen countries should make a note of when you arrive in the Schengen Area, and when you leave. Their systems should keep a track of how many days you have spent inside the Area, and each time you leave they should check if you’ve exceeded 90 days in the past 180 days. This means you can leave and re-enter the Area as many times as you like, but can’t stay more than roughly 3 months in any 6 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens if you try and stay longer appears to depend on a mixture of (a) how long you overstayed and (b) the country you were caught in. Deportation, fines and temporary bans on re-entry<\/a> to the Schengen Area are all possibilities. The Internet being what it is, there are lots of folks who suggest the law isn’t, can’t or won’t be enforced. It seems very likely to us the law isn’t 100% enforced to the letter across all of the Schengen Area, but we’re personally not planning on risking it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can’t We Work Around This? Where There’s a Will!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully Nomadic Matt’s already done the heavy lifting on this one (read his article here,<\/a> or thesavvybackpacker.com<\/a> has similar info). In summary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n