visas

The year 2026 brings significant travel changes for Brits heading to the EU and beyond, so make sure you know the new rules coming into effect this year, and how they might impact your holiday plans

The travel landscape is always changing, with shifts in airport rules, tourism limitations, and additional paperwork often leaving holidaymakers puzzled about how the changes will affect them and what they need to do.

It seems that 2026 will see the way people travel change once more, especially for Brits journeying to or from the EU. The potential need for a visa waiver looms large, and the new entry and exit system is set to be introduced this year. But what does this mean for the typical holidaymaker?

Below is a rundown of some of the key travel rules you will want on your radar if you’ve got a trip lined up.

ETIAS – EU Visas

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) is a new visa waiver programme for exempt visitors travelling to the EU. It’s a lot like the United States’ ESTA, and the process will be similar for those planning a European holiday.

Once in place, Brits planning an EU getaway will need to fill out an ETIAS application, which is a pre-screening that allows you to enter the Schengen Area without a visa. While the process will be simple, the main downside is that the visa will set you back €20 per person, about £17, with under 18s and over 70s exempt from the charge.

However, once approved, the ETIAS will remain valid for three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. At present, no official launch date for ETIAS has been announced, but it’s wise to keep an eye out for any updates. Recently, Spain announced they were pushing the date back. It was thought that ETIAS would be required to visit the country by October 2026, but due to operational challenges, there will be a six month grace period, so it won’t be mandatory until April 2027.

As when applying for any travel visa or official document, it’s highly recommended to only use the official ETIAS website and avoid third-party sites.

EU Entry/Exit System (EES)

After multiple delays, the Entry/Exit System (EES) is set to be fully implemented by the deadline of April 10. Luckily, you don’t need to do anything once this system is in place, but Brits are being warned to they could face long airport queues upon arrival in the EU.

Once in place, anyone from outside the Schengen Area, including Brits, will have to submit fingerprints and a facial image at the border when entering all Schengen member countries, including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. It means the phasing out of manual passport stamps and is set to make it easier for EU officials to identify those who overstay.

Car passengers from the Port of Dover were set to go through the EES system from October, but the date has now been pushed back until “early 2026”, with no exact date confirmed.

Tourist tax hikes and higher attraction fees

Brits travelling to certain countries could get caught out by additional charges as governments try to tackle overtourism.

A growing number of destinations are introducing tourist taxes, and while these are usually small nightly fees, they can quickly add up for longer stays or larger groups. English mayors are also set to gain the power to impose tourist taxes, meaning even domestic holidays could carry extra costs.

New tourist taxes set to kick off in 2026 include Edinburgh, where a 5% surcharge will be added to hotel bills from July, and Thailand, which will impose a 300 baht fee (roughly £7) on air passengers.

Brits jetting off overseas may also find themselves forking out more than the locals to gain entry to popular attractions. A prime example is Paris’s Louvre, which recently declared that from early 2026, EEA residents will be asked to cough up €22 (approximately £19.15) for admission, while those outside the EEA, including Brits, will face a steeper €32 entrance fee (around £27.86).

U.S. National Parks are also planning to roll out a two-tier pricing system for American citizens and tourists. The latter group will be slapped with an extra $100 charge on top of standard fees to access famous parks such as the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. This additional cost can be charged per person or per vehicle, depending on the park’s rules.

For instance, a family trip to the Grand Canyon usually sets visitors back by $35 (roughly £25.87) for a private car. However, under the new regulations for non-Americans, this fee will rocket to a whopping $135, meaning tourists could end up shelling out just shy of £100 merely to cross the threshold.

Rowdy passenger fines

A new French law is cracking down on out-of-control passengers, a move that could soon be followed by other EU countries. Travellers flying through French airspace who break rules such as using electronic devices when asked not to, obstructing flight crew, or ignoring safety instructions, now face hefty fines of up to €10,000 and bans from flying for up to four years.

For those who repeatedly flout the rules, fines can rocket to €20,000, serving as a stern warning to be on your best behaviour when flying. The French Civil Aviation Authority will keep a record of misbehaviour, allowing French airlines to report troublesome passengers and pinpoint repeat offenders.

Changes to liquid rules

UK airports are working to abolish the 100ml liquids rule, with new high-tech scanners being rolled out which means passengers won’t need to adhere to the strict restrictions that have been in place for years.

There was an original deadline of June 2024 for all UK airports to have these in place, but this has been repeatedly delayed, with some airports having finished the roll out, and others still doing the upgrades. As a result, your best bet is to check the rules at your individual airport.

The UK government advises on its website: “At most airports, you cannot take liquids in containers larger than 100ml through security. This still applies if the container is only part full. Some airports may allow you to take liquid in containers that hold up to 2 litres of liquid.”

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Passengers at Birmingham, Gatwick, and Edinburgh airports can now pack up to two litres of liquids in their carry-on bags, thanks to upgraded scanning technology. Over at Luton Airport, while the 100ml rule still applies, there’s no need to separate liquids from your hand luggage anymore.

This means you can throw out those tiny plastic bags, and simply put your hand luggage on the belt, saving time when going through security.

However, it’s important to bear in mind that rules may vary at your destination. So, if you’re carrying a two-litre bottle from the UK in your hand luggage, you might have to stow it in your checked luggage for the return trip.

Tougher smoking and vaping restrictions

Several Spanish holiday destinations popular with Brits are planning stricter rules on smoking and vaping in public spaces. In some tourist magnets like Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, lighting up a cigarette or vape is already banned on beaches, while certain beaches in the Canaries have been designated as ‘clean-air zones’.

However, new proposals potentially coming into force in 2026 could see a blanket ban on smoking and vaping in various outdoor areas, including beaches and bar terraces across Spain, with instant fines for rule-breakers. In the Canary Islands, penalties for breaching anti-smoking laws currently range from €30 to €2,000 (roughly £26 to £1,730), so similar fines are expected to accompany the new regulations.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has added seven countries, including five in Africa, to the list of nations whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States.

Thirteen countries, all but two of them in Africa, are now on the list, which makes the process of obtaining a U.S. visa unaffordable for many.

The State Department last week quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list. Those designations took effect on Jan. 1, according to a notice posted on the travel.state.gov website.

It’s the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten requirements for entry to the U.S., including requiring citizens from all countries that require visas to sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media histories as well as detailed accounts of their and their families’ previous travel and living arrangements.

U.S. officials have defended the bonds, which can range from $5,000 up to $15,000, maintaining they are effective in ensuring that citizens of targeted countries do not overstay their visas.

Payment of the bond does not guarantee a visa will be granted, but the amount will be refunded if the visa is denied or when a visa holder demonstrates they have complied with the terms of visa.

The new countries covered by the requirement join Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Gambia, Malawi and Zambia, which were all placed on the list in August and October of last year.

Lee writes for the Associated Press.

The United Kingdom has imposed visa restrictions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accusing its government of failing to cooperate with its new policy on the return of undocumented migrants and those who commit criminal offences.

The UK Home Office announced the measures in a statement late on Saturday. It also said that Angola and Namibia have agreed to step up efforts to take back their citizens.

The agreements mark the first major change under sweeping reforms unveiled by Secretary of State for the Home Department Shabana Mahmood last month to make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive without documents in the UK.

There was no immediate comment from the DRC, Angola or Namibia.

The Home Office said the DRC failed to meet the UK’s requirements for cooperation and has now been stripped of fast-track visa services and preferential treatment for VIPs and decision makers.

Mahmood said the UK could escalate measures to a complete halt of visas for the DRC unless cooperation rapidly improves.

“We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back,” she said.

“I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their co-operation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing. Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country.

“This is just the start of the measures I am taking to secure our border and ramp up the removal of those with no right to be here,” she added.

Prime Minister Keir Streamer’s centre-left government unveiled sweeping changes to the UK’s asylum system last month, including drastically cutting protections for refugees and their children, as part of a bid to stem the arrivals of irregular migrants that have fuelled rising anger on the far-right.

More than 39,000 people, many fleeing conflict, have arrived in the UK on small boats this year, more than for the whole of 2024 but lower than the record set in 2022, when the Conservatives were in power.

Mahmood told lawmakers that the reforms, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, would discourage refugees and asylum seekers from crossing the English Channel from France on small boats.

She described the current system as “out of control and unfair”, adding that it was an “uncomfortable truth” that the government must face.

Under the reforms, refugee status will become temporary and will be reviewed every 30 months. Refugees will be forced to return to their home countries once those are deemed safe.

They will also need to wait for 20 years, instead of the current five, before they can apply for permanent residency.

The government has also said it will legislate to make it harder for irregular migrants and foreign criminals to use the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to stop deportation.

Since July last year, the UK has “removed more than 50,000 people with no right to remain”, a 23 percent increase on the previous period, and instructed diplomats to make returns a top priority, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Yvette Cooper said.

The policy has been facing criticism, however, with Mark Davies, a former adviser to the Foreign Office, calling it “shameful” and a departure from “Britain’s historic commitment to support refugees”.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also described the policy as “draconian”, adding that it tries to “appease the most ghastly, racist right-wing forces all across Europe”, while undermining the UN Convention on Human Rights.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, urged the government to reconsider, warning the plans “will not deter” crossings, and that refugees who work hard should be able to build “secure, settled lives”.

Official figures cited by the AFP news agency showed that asylum claims in the UK are at a record high, with about 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025.

But the number of initial positive decisions the UK authorities granted fell from 2023 to 2024.

Most asylum seekers and refugees arrive in the UK legally. Net migration reached a record high of 906,000 in the year to June 2023, before it fell to 431,000 in 2024, partly reflecting the tighter rules.