Mayor of London to call on Government to relax Brexit rules

By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will tonight call on the Government to ease post-Brexit visa rules which he warns are putting off too many young Europeans from visiting and working in the UK capital.

In a speech to business leaders on Thursday evening, Mr Khan will call on Ministers to introduce a new “youth group travel visa” which would be designed to make the UK more open to visits from international school pupils.

One recent survey by the Tourism Alliance – the industry body for UK tourism – found that a group of EU-based tour operators expected in 2023 to send just 42 per cent of the number of students to the UK compared with how many they sent in 2019.

This compares with 95 per cent for the Republic of Ireland, and 90 per cent for other EU countries.

Mr Khan said he was concerned about the impact of “restrictive policies that only damage our economy and opportunities for growth”.

Although the rising cost of travel in general has had an impact on tourism across Europe, post-Brexit border rules – especially the need for all visiting EU school-children to have passports – is thought to have had a particular impact on school visitor numbers to the UK.

Before Brexit, groups of EU school-children could travel using their state-issued European Economic Area (EEA) identity cards – but since October 2021, every child entering the UK must have a passport, and children with non-EU passports, including refugees, also need a £95 visa.

Passport ownership is less common in many European countries than in the UK, as many people travel within the EU using their national ID card – with less than half the population of France and Germany holding a passport.

The new rules are thought to be making many EU school trips to London prohibitively difficult and expensive to organise.

In his speech to business leaders at the opening of architecture firm Patriarche’s new offices in the City of London, the Mayor will also call for the Government’s Youth Mobility Scheme to be extended, in a reciprocal agreement, with EU countries.

The scheme allows 18-30 year-olds from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and a few other countries to live and work in the UK for up to two years, provided that they have £2,530 in savings.

The Government’s independent Migration Advisory Committee has long called for the scheme’s expansion.

Mr Khan believes that doing so would promote cultural exchange and support sectors experiencing labour shortages, such as hospitality and catering.

“Our post-Brexit future does not have to mean isolation from our European friends and partners and restrictive policies that only damage our economy and opportunities for growth,” said the Mayor.

News of the policy proposal was welcomed by Richard Toomer, executive director of the Tourism Alliance, who said: “We should be encouraging tourists to come here, not putting up unnecessary barriers.

“No longer accepting ID cards at the border has had a massive hit on the numbers of young people coming to visit the UK, especially on organised school trips.”

Asked whether the Government would be heeding Mr Khan’s calls, a Home Office spokeswoman said: “The standard visitor rules currently permit a range of short-term activities for which entry clearance is not required in advance, but most EEA and Swiss citizens require a passport, just like everybody else.”

Pictured top: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (Picture: PA)