Brexit and the Camino

[scruffy1]

This is far more important than a simple political move by a member of the EU and this post has nothing to do with politics, Brexit Yes Brexit No. The realities of many Camino routes have been marked by the entrance of many British nationals as owners of restaurants, gites in France, hotels, and service providers. This has been a heartening move since suddenly we find millions of French peopl;e who CAN speak English as competition tightens. However, the draft agreement which is far from being approved in the British parliament, contains some encouraging words"
Freedom of movement
The draft document provides protections for the more than three million EU citizens in the UK, and over one million UK nationals in EU countries to continue to live, work or study as they currently do.
Crucially, "no exit visa, entry visa or equivalent formality shall be required of holders of a valid document issued" for EU and UK nationals when crossing national boarders within the bloc.
Encouraging words but we must wait and see how the Brexit issue finally is resolved.

 

[Former member 49149]

Excuse me, Brexit is political. Or am I asleep?

 

[scruffy1]

Excuse me, Brexit is political. Or am I asleep?

Of course Brexit is political, the the consequences for the Camino however have nothing to do with politics. Should the UK simply pack it up, over a 1,000,000 British nationals studying, working, or living now within the EU will be forced to return home and acquire the proper visa in order to return. Those UK nationals providing services for we pilgrims along any of the different Camino routes will disappear. Those ignoring whatever may be decided could find themselves in a position to face fines, be deported, or even become that American boogeyman, Illegal Aliens. This is reality not politics

 

[Former member 49149]

Ok Scruffy. Technically, I am British so maybe I just reacted, forgive me. i am waiting to see if I need to cough up €1000 to buy an Irish passport...

 

[Finisterre]

the choice was political
these proposals will become a reality
nobody here can influence the outcomes
the way people can move within Europe is of interest

I'm pleased to hear that we will all still be free to roam.

 

[Finisterre]

Ok Scruffy. Technically, I am British so maybe I just reacted, forgive me. i am waiting to see if I need to cough up €1000 to buy an Irish passport...

Are Irish passports for sale so cheap?
I thought it was only Portugal and Cyprus that sold passports for around 500.000 Euros apiece.

 

[Kathar1na]

Crucially, "no exit visa, entry visa or equivalent formality shall be required of holders of a valid document issued" for EU and UK nationals when crossing national boarders within the bloc.

The subparagraph 2 of Article 14 of CHAPTER 1 on the RIGHTS RELATED TO RESIDENCE, RESIDENCE DOCUMENTS reads in its entirety: "No exit visa, entry visa or equivalent formality shall be required of holders of a valid document issued in accordance with Article 18 or 26.

So this line is not about tourists including pilgrims, it's about people who reside in an EU country and are British or who live in the UK and are not British. And there are conditions attached to it. I don't know whether there's anything about travelling into the EU and out of it in the draft withdrawal agreement. Somehow doubt it. Free movement of people is not about travelling, it's about studying, working or long-term residence.

For those keen on reading all 585 pages of the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, as agreed at negotiators' level on 14 November 2018, it's here:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_withdrawal_agreement_0.pdf

I've been watching several hours of PMQs this morning. Way too early to draw any conclusions on anything.

Perhaps interesting to know on the practical side how UK residents in Spain or France are getting their information about how to prepare for any eventuality. All I know from friends and family elsewhere is that quite a few British nationals are getting a second nationality, ideally from their country of residence, or having their passport renewed if they have already a second EU (non-UK) passport. And I know that British embassies have organised information evenings for UK residents abroad but I'm not sure whether they do this everywhere.

 

[Kathar1na]

BTW, from memory, an MP asked May today about the future of the EHIC (European Health) card for British people who want to travel to the EU and May replied something like we are working on it and I will write to you with details. All this is minor stuff for them at the moment. They still need to sort out and get to a firm approval of the big stuff first and that will still take time.

I didn't have a chance to say this before but my only concern at the moment would be initial technical or organisational hick-ups that could lead to longer than usual delays in a few airports, ferry ports and Eurostar train stations around the beginning of April 2019. I personally would bear this in mind if I were to make any bookings for travelling around those days.

 

[Dorpie]

This seems like another thread started for good reasons that may end badly.

I don't think (and I speak as an Englishman) that the presence of British people in and around the Camino has had much of an influence, in fact apart from the albergue run by the British CSJ I don't remember meeting a single Brit involved in Camino infrastructure.To my mind it has far more to do with so many pilgrims from around the world having English as a first or second language and it becoming a default lingua franca.

Mods please delete any of this you feel is inappropriate but my impression from watching PMQs (Prime Minister's Questions) earlier is that we're a good way from a final agreement so no chickens should be counted in either direction.

 

[ivar]

Hey.. let's not get ahead of ourselves.. will close this thread now and once we know what the status is of Brexit we can give advice on hard facts and not speculations