AFTER years of negotiations, Brexit is finally happening today – Friday, January 31.
Brits travelling to Europe after Brexit should be aware that there's new advice around everything from passport and visas to EHIC and driving licences.
Read our Brexit day live blog for all the latest news and updates
Before the Withdrawal Agreement was finalised, there was the possibility that the UK will leave the EU without a deal.
And in a No Deal situation, Brits would have required to have extra validity on their passport and their European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) would have stopped working.
But now that the Brexit Bill has finally been signed into law, the UK will enter into a transition period instead.
The transition period will be between January 31 and December 31, 2020, during which the government will be negotiating trade agreements.
The transition period also means that the travel advice you've previously seen might not be current anymore.
So before you travel, make sure you know what the latest advice is.
Can I book my holiday as normal?
The simple answer is yes!
There should be little impact on your booked holiday – or any that you're planning to book this year – as the UK enters the transition period next month.
Flights, ferries, cruises, Eurostar, Eurotunnel, and bus and coach services are all expected to run as normal.
There may be some fluctuations to the value of the pound when the UK officially leaves the EU tomorrow, but this should steady by the summer months.
If you're travelling soon, and you're worried, it might be worth buying some of your holiday money before then – but it's hard to know which way the exchange rate will swing.
Make sure you have travel insurance though, and read the fine print to make sure you've got the right cover for your holiday.
Do I need to renew my passport before I travel?
One of the biggest changes is advice around passports.
When a No Deal Brexit was a real possibility, Brits were advised to check their passports before they travel, and renew if they have less than six months left on it.
Some with older passports were even told they had to renew if they had less than 15 months left on their passport.
This is because without a deal, Brits would need to have at least six months of validity left on their passport.
Those with older passports would have had up to nine months of validity carried over from a previous passport – but this extra time doesn't count due to a loop hole in the law, which is why some people needed 15 months or more left on their passports.
Why do I need 15 months left on my passport?
At the moment, Brits who renew their passport before it's expired can carry up to nine months over to their new passport.
So a new passport can have the maximum validity of 10 years and nine months.
After the transition period, Brits visiting Schengen Area countries, including Spain, France and Greece, will be governed by the same rules as visitors from non-EU countries.
This means that they will need at least six months left on their passport to enter the EU, and their passport must have been issued in the last ten years.
It creates a loophole that makes the extra nine months that were carried over invalid in the Schengen Area.
That's why Brits who carried over the full nine months when they last renewed would need at least 15 months left on the passport after Brexit – nine months to account for the now-invalid time carried over, plus six months for the required validity.
There are two simple questions you should answer to check whether you need to renew your passport before you travel, which you can find here.
Fortunately, with a Withdrawal Agreement now signed off, the advice for No Deal Brexit no longer applies.
Instead, Brits just need to have enough validity on their passport for the duration of their stay if they're heading to Europe.
This will apply for the duration of the transition period.
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