Visa Advice for UK Passport Holders Travelling for business purposes to the EU/EEA

UK passport holders travelling to the EU/EEA for business purposes may now require a visa or work permit. 

Visa free ‘permitted activities’ are detailed in Clause 8 of Annex 21 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

If you are travelling to Austria (AT), Croatia (HR), Cyprus (CY), Czechia (CZ), Finland (FI), Hungary (HU), Latvia (LT), Malta (MT), Poland (PL), Slovak Republic (SK), Slovenia (SI) and Spain (ES) a visa or work permit may still be required. The Union’s non-conforming measures are detailed in clause 6 of the agreement.

 

Clause 8. The activities Short-term business visitors are permitted to engage in are:

(a) Meetings and consultations: natural persons attending meetings or conferences, or engaged in consultations with business associates;

(b) Research and design: technical, scientific and statistical researchers conducting independent research or research for a legal person of the Party of which the Short-term business visitor is a natural person;

(c) Marketing research: market researchers and analysts conducting research or analysis for a legal person of the Party of which the Short-term business visitor is a natural person;

(d) Training seminars: personnel of an enterprise who enter the territory being visited by the Short-term business visitor to receive training in techniques and work practices which are utilised by companies or organisations in the territory being visited by the Short-term business visitor, provided that the training received is confined to observation, familiarisation and classroom instruction only;

(e) Trade fairs and exhibitions: personnel attending a trade fair for the purpose of promoting their company or its products or services;

(f) Sales: representatives of a supplier of services or goods taking orders or negotiating the sale of services or goods or entering into agreements to sell services or goods for that supplier, but not delivering goods or supplying services themselves. Short-term business visitors shall not engage in making direct sales to the general public;

(g) Purchasing: buyers purchasing goods or services for an enterprise, or management and supervisory personnel, engaging in a commercial transaction carried out in the territory of the Party of which the Short-term business visitor is a natural person;

(h) After-sales or after-lease service: installers, repair and maintenance personnel and supervisors, possessing specialised knowledge essential to a seller’s contractual obligation, supplying services or training workers to supply services pursuant to a warranty or other service contract incidental to the sale or lease of commercial or industrial equipment or machinery, including computer software, purchased or leased from a legal person of the Party of which the Short-term business visitor is a natural person throughout the duration of the warranty or service contract;

(i) Commercial transactions: management and supervisory personnel and financial services personnel (including insurers, bankers and investment brokers) engaging in a commercial transaction for a legal person of the Party of which the Short-term business visitor is a natural person;

(j) Tourism personnel: tour and travel agents, tour guides or tour operators attending or participating in conventions or accompanying a tour that has begun in the territory of the Party of which the Short-term business visitor is a natural person; 

(k) Translation and interpretation: translators or interpreters supplying services as employees of a legal person of the Party of which the Short-term business visitor is a natural person.

In addition to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, supplementary country specific information may be found in the ‘Business Travel: Extra Requirements’ section at GOV.UK. Where specific advice is not provided, an onward link may be provided to the relevant website for the country in question. 

 

CIBTVISAS POST BREXIT ASSESSMENT FORM

If further clarity is required, our passport and visa services partner CIBTvisas offers an online Post Brexit Assessment Form. This form enables you to enter the reason for your trip. CIBTvisas will then schedule a telephone consultancy call where any specific visa or work permit requirements will be outlined. If no visa or work permit is required, you will be provided with a letter outlining the rationale for visa free travel. 

It should be noted that there is a £25.00 fee from CIBTvisas for this service. If a visa or work permit is required, the fee will then be added as a credit to the final invoice for the visa/work permit application. 

Should you have any additional questions please contact your Account Manager or your designated travel team here at Meon.

In line with our standard terms and conditions, Meon Valley Travel does not accept liability for any guidance provided in respect of this matter.