Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of UK nationals who have not been allowed to board a flight from a UK airport to a destination in the EU since 1 January 2021 as a result of the airline not believing the passenger had the required documentation showing their right of residence in an EU Member State.

The UK Government is monitoring the situation closely and is liaising with the EU, Member States and carriers to ensure the correct rules are applied. Following the end of the transition period, new rules for the treatment of UK nationals at the Schengen border came into effect. UK nationals and their family members, protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, should be allowed to enter the EU provided they present documentary evidence of residence in the EU before the end of the transition period. They should be allowed to enter the EU without having their passport stamped, being subject to routine intentions questioning or being required to prove sufficient means of subsistence.

The Government has written to UK airlines regarding compliance with the new rules and documentation that should be accepted. This includes any document that credibly evidences status under the Withdrawal Agreement, including a residence permit; a certificate of application; a frontier worker permit or other documents that include an address in the EU. Those who present this evidence to airlines, along with a valid travel document, should be allowed to board and enter the EU, including Member States other than the country of residence for transit purposes. The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) TIMATIC service is also providing this information to airlines. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also established a dedicated contact route, on gov.uk, for UK nationals encountering disruption at the Schengen border.