UK to Ease Entry Rules for French Students on School Trips
The UK authorities have announced plans that aim to ease travel restrictions for French pupils on school trips, which have plummeted in recent years.
According to Euronews, the British territory has been a popular destination for school trips in France, and before the UK left the European Union, known as the Brexit phenomenon, 10,000 trips a year were recorded, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Travel companies estimate that the school trips generated around €116 million for the UK economy, and since Brexit, when new rules came into force, the number of school trips to the UK from France dropped.
The outcome could be related to the added requirements for documentation, with students being required to present a passport, an ID card and a visa if they are not EU citizens.
Around half of French people are considered not to have a passport, provided they do not need one to travel within the EU, and obtaining one can be a hassle for French parents.
Schools were forced to face leaving pupils behind or asking families to pay up to around €116 to undergo the visa process at the British Embassy in Paris.
Representative authorities from respective countries, the British PM Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron met at the beginning of the year to discuss this particular matter. They later issued a statement communicating their plans to expand the cooperation and policy exchanges on school education as well as facilitating school trips and exchanges.
Last week, the UK Parliament discussed plans to allow school groups to travel with ID cards and exempt non-EU students from visa requirements, requiring only a passport to travel to the UK.
Edward Hisbergues, the director of PG Trips, a travel company with clients who were impacted by the post-Brexit regime, said for the Financial Times that he was happy to know France and the UK are getting closer again.
I am happy to know that no more children will be sidelined because of their nationality.
The new rules are expected to enter into force on December 28, and all minors until 18 years of age who are studying at a school or educational institution in France registered with the French Ministry of Education are eligible to travel to the UK under these conditions. School trips are considered groups of students with five or more people.
If this measure turns out to be effective, the UK will start applying the same rules for all students in Europe. Surveys have shown school trips to the UK from the EU have fallen by up to two-thirds in the year after Brexit’s border controls were introduced.
