Brits in the EU after Brexit: residence and 90/180

If you lived in the EU before 2021, you're a resident with protected rights. If you didn't, you're a visitor counting days until you get a visa.

The short version

Living in an EU country before 1 January 2021? The Withdrawal Agreement protects your rights to live, work, study and use public services there, as long as you keep living there. You may need a residence document to prove it [1][6].
Everyone else can visit the Schengen area without a visa for 90 days in any 180-day period. Staying longer, or working, needs a national visa or permit [2].
The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) started on 12 October 2025 and reached full operation on 10 April 2026. It records your fingerprints and face at the border instead of stamping your passport [4][5].
ETIAS, an online travel authorisation for visa-free visitors, is planned but not yet in operation: when we checked on 7 November 2026, the EU's official ETIAS website said no applications were being collected and that the start date will be announced several months before launch. The fee will be EUR 20 [7].
Residents with a residence document are not registered in the EES, and should show their card with their passport at the border [2][5].

Two kinds of Brit in the EU

Brexit split Brits in the EU into two groups, and the rules for each are very different.

	Withdrawal Agreement residents	Everyone else
Who	Lived legally in an EU country before 1 January 2021 and still live there	Moved after 2020, or visitors
Right to live there	Protected while you keep living there	Only with a national visa or permit
Right to work	Broadly unchanged	Depends on the visa
Proof	A residence document, such as Spain's TIE	A visa or residence permit
Border	Show your residence card; the EES doesn't record you	90/180 rule, EES and later ETIAS
Close family	Can join you if the relationship began by 31 December 2020	National family rules

Sources: [1], [2], [3], [5].

Withdrawal Agreement rights: if you were there before 2021

If you lived legally in an EU country before 1 January 2021, the Withdrawal Agreement protects your rights to live, work, study and access benefits and services there, which stay broadly as they were [1]. Close family members can join you later if the relationship existed by 31 December 2020 [1].

Get the document

Most countries made Withdrawal Agreement residents apply for, or swap to, a new residence document. In Spain it's the TIE, which the FCDO describes as the only valid residence document listed in the Withdrawal Agreement. People who moved to Spain before 2021 without one must still register and get a TIE [3]. France, Portugal, Italy and the others each have their own card and process, so check the FCDO "Living in" guide for your country.

Carry it with your passport

When you travel, carry your residence document with your passport, especially within the EU [1]. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, you don't need extra months left on your passport to enter or leave your EU country of residence. If a border guard stamps your passport anyway, the stamp is void once you show you live there legally [1]. In Spain, the FCDO says British residents shouldn't have their passports stamped at all and should show their TIE instead [2].

Don't let it lapse

The protection follows residence. Long absences can end your status, and the rules on how long you can be away differ between temporary and permanent residence. If you're planning a long spell back in Blighty, caring for a parent, say, check the rules in your country before you go.

The 90/180-day rule: for everyone else

A British passport now counts as a non-EU passport. You can visit the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period [2]. It's a rolling window: on any day you're there, look back 180 days and add up every day spent in any Schengen country. Days of arrival and departure both count. The EU has an official short-stay calculator on its home affairs website.

A few things that trip Brits up:

It's the whole Schengen area, not one country. Three weeks in Portugal and a fortnight in Italy come off the same 90 days.
Cyprus and Ireland aren't in Schengen. Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area, so British citizens can live and work there freely.
Owning a home doesn't give you extra days. A villa in the Algarve is still a visitor's 90 days unless you get a visa.
You can't work on visa-free time, beyond limited business visits.
Overstaying can mean a fine, a ban or a refused entry next time, and the EES now makes overstays easy to spot.

Passport rules for visitors

For visa-free visits, your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you arrive, and must be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave [2]. Check both dates, especially on an older passport with extra months carried over from a renewal.

Want more than 90 days?

You need a national visa from the country where you want to spend the time, such as a long-stay visitor visa, a non-working residence visa, a work permit or a digital nomad visa. Each country sets its own income tests and paperwork. Apply from the UK, usually through the embassy or its visa centre, well before the trip.

The Entry/Exit System (EES)

The EES replaces passport stamps with a digital record. It started gradually on 12 October 2025, and the EU says it reached full operation on 10 April 2026 [4][5].

First crossing: border staff or a self-service kiosk scan your passport, take your fingerprints and a facial image, and record the date and place of entry.
Later crossings: you're checked against that record. The FCDO says the digital EES record is valid for 3 years [2].
Every crossing: entries and exits are logged, and the system works out how much of your 90/180 allowance you've used.

Expect queues at busy times, particularly at Dover, the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone and St Pancras, where EU checks happen on the UK side.

Who isn't registered: holders of long-stay visas and residence permits aren't recorded in the EES [5], and the FCDO says long-term residents of a Schengen country are exempt in every Schengen country [2]. Show your residence card with your passport so they know.

ETIAS: planned, not yet running

ETIAS is an online travel authorisation that visa-free visitors, Brits included, will need before going to most EU and Schengen countries. It is planned, not running: when we checked on 7 November 2026, the EU's official ETIAS website said ETIAS "is currently not in operation" and that the EU will announce the start date several months before launch, so there is no official start date yet [7][4]. The application fee will be EUR 20 (about £17 at the Bank of England rate of 5 November 2026, £1 = EUR 1.20) [7], and there is no fee for under-18s or over-70s [5].

Two practical points:

When it starts, apply only through the EU's official ETIAS website. Lookalike sites charge extra for nothing.
ETIAS is for visitors. It isn't meant for people who live in an EU country on a residence permit.

A quick check before your next trip

Lived there before 2021? Is your residence document valid, and are you carrying it?
Visiting? Count your Schengen days for the last 180, and check your passport's issue and expiry dates.
Got a second home? Plan the year around 90 days, or look at a national visa.
Read the FCDO travel advice entry requirements for the country before each trip.

Brits in the EU after Brexit: Withdrawal Agreement rights, the 90/180-day rule and the new border checks