The word Brexit, which is basically a blending of the two words “British Exit”, has been on the worldwide news for years now, long before the 2016, when the last referendum about this matter was finally successful. The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU after 47 years of membership has been for a very long time a desired primacy for part of the British population, the Eurosceptic, who eventually, in 2016 menaged to push David Cameron’s Pro-Europe government to hold a referendum, which passed by 51.9%. This led to his resignation and four years of negotiations with the EU. This process was politically challenging within the UK and after many rejected deals from both sides and two new Prime Ministers, in December 2020, under Boris Johnoson’s government the UK and the EU agreed a deal. Brexit has officially begun on 1st January. So what about now? What is going to change?
First of all, the deal has been agreed, Brexit is now closer than ever but it won’t change anything overnight. Indeed, the first part of the journey will last up until 31st January and many other things won’t change for months. The ultimate agreement, reached up in the last days of 2020, contains 1246 pages, which I’m afraid are too many to quote here, that is why, then, in the next few lines I will list the main changes it implies.
● Travel Rules change
If for those who already are in British territory the identity card will be valid for the whole year, it isn’t the same for those who will travel to the UK after the 1st January. They will need to have a passport and, furthermore, they will need an electronic visa, to be obtained at least three days before departure. The cost of the visa is not yet known.
● Roaming costs
Italian citizens in the UK can currently use their mobile and their telephone rates without any surcharge. This will change, in fact, from 1st January they will have to refer to their operators in regards to any charges.
● University and Erasmus
The UK government has already introduced a new immigration regime for students, furthermore it will not continue to participate in the Erasmus scheme. For all the students currently studying in the UK nothing will change, it will change a lot for students who are going to study in the UK since 2021, they will have, indeed, to request a visa and (unfortunately for them) they won’t be able to benefit from the reduced university fees as it has been until now.
These are only a few of the changes that Brexit entails, consequently, as the Covid Emergency stands it is better to be informed about them in case we can travel to the UK. Wishing to start travelling soon, I’ll invite you to follow the rules and be always careful to prevent the spread of the covid.
