Half of British holidaymakers remain unsure they understand the visa and travel requirements for visiting Europe after Brexit, according to a survey from Saga Travel Insurance, as the late-2026 launch of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) adds a further pre-travel step for UK travellers.
The findings land as the trade prepares clients for a fresh layer of entry requirements across the Schengen area, with agents and operators likely to field a wave of questions on authorisation, passport validity and the rules governing short stays.
From late 2026, British travellers visiting most European countries will need ETIAS approval before departure. The system applies to visa-exempt travellers visiting 30 European countries for short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period, and works much like the UK’s own Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme and the US ESTA.
The application is set to cost €20, with exemptions for travellers under 18 or over 70, and remains valid for three years or until the holder’s passport expires. Most applications are expected to be processed within minutes, though additional checks can take longer.
“Travellers may not realise that visiting Europe will soon involve an additional pre-travel authorisation step,” said Saga Travel Insurance Director Michelle Cooper. “The authorisation will be linked directly to your passport, meaning travellers could be denied boarding if their ETIAS details don’t match their travel document or if the authorisation has expired.”
The survey of 500 UK passport holders, conducted in May via OnePulse, found 16% did not know when their passport expired, 10% had less than a year remaining and 8% were holding expired passports. One in 14 said they had been denied entry to a country because they had insufficient time left on their passport.
Cooper said confusion around the so-called 10-year passport rule was the most widely discussed passport concern online. EU and Schengen countries require passports to be less than 10 years old on the day of entry, an issue affecting passports issued before 2018, which can remain valid for 10 years and nine months.
She also pointed to the Schengen 90-day limit, counted backwards across a rolling 180-day period, warning that frequent short breaks can push travellers over the threshold and that those exceeding it could face fines or a re-entry ban.
Cooper said that, as with passport validity, the responsibility for obtaining the correct authorisation rested with the traveller, and that insurance was unlikely to cover denied boarding or cancellation where a traveller had failed to secure valid ETIAS or ESTA approval.
Why it matters for the trade
The ETIAS launch hands agents and operators a clear advisory role at the point of sale. Clients who assume European travel works as it did before Brexit are the ones most exposed to denied boarding, and the cost of getting it wrong falls on the holiday rather than the insurer. Trade partners who build authorisation checks and passport validity prompts into the booking journey stand to reduce disruption, protect margins on cancellations and reinforce their value over direct booking.
With similar schemes spreading globally, the burden of keeping clients compliant is becoming a permanent feature of the selling process rather than a one-off Brexit adjustment.