As an EU, EEA and Swiss citizen you can travel to the UK for short trips without needing a visa. However, an important change to traveling to the UK is that you can no longer use an EU, EEA or Swiss national ID card to enter the UK from 1 October 2021. Instead, a valid passport must be shown at the UK border, which must be valid for the entire duration of your stay in the UK.
Exceptions
However, if one of the following categories applies to you, you may continue to use a valid national ID card when travelling to the UK, until at least 31 December 2025:
- You have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
- You have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme but not yet received a decision
- You have an EU Settlement Scheme family permit
- You have a frontier worker permit
- You are an S2 Healthcare Visitor
- You are a Swiss national and have a Service Provider from Switzerland visa
Additionally, Gibraltar identity cards and passport cards of Irish citizens can still be used when travelling to the UK.
Non-EEA family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizens
Non-EEA family member of an EU, EEA or Swiss citizens are not allowed to used national ID cards to enter the UK. Thus, you cannot use an Article 10 or Article 20 residence card issued by an EEA member state. If you fall under this category, you will need to show a valid passport and one of the following:
- an EU Settlement Scheme family permit
- a UK-issued EEA family permit
- a UK-issued biometric residence card
