By tf-lawyer.com In a recent development, the trade body representing France’s travel industry has raised alarms regarding the future of a program aimed at increasing French students’ visits to the UK for school trips. Jamie Grierson reports that the initiative may face significant challenges due to impending changes in UK entry requirements.
This initiative, which was established following discussions between French President Emmanuel Macron and former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in December 2023, allowed French students to travel to the UK using their national identity cards. Additionally, it enabled non-EU students to enter the UK without needing a visa, an effort to counteract a noticeable drop in visits since Brexit.
However, according to the Financial Times, this program is now at risk due to the UK’s new electronic travel authorization (ETA) system that is set to launch on April 2, 2025. This new requirement will mandate that all EU visitors register before traveling to the UK, meaning children will need passports, potentially complicating school trip logistics.
Valérie Boned, the president of Les Entreprises du Voyage, the primary trade association for French travel agencies, penned a letter to UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on October 8, inquiring whether the program for French school groups would continue under these new regulations. As of now, the Home Office has not responded to her query.
In her letter, which was reviewed by the Financial Times, Boned expressed urgency, stating, “The sooner we manage to clear the situation, the less impact it will have on the number of school trips for 2025.”
Data from Les Entreprises du Voyage indicates that the initial program resulted in a 30% increase in school trips from France to the UK, a significant rebound given that visits were 60% lower than pre-2019 levels at the program’s inception. Moreover, French officials have shared their concerns with the UK government regarding the potential influence of the ETA on school trips.
As the Labour government seeks to mend relations with the EU, Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces pressure to explore a youth mobility scheme that would enable young people from the EU to live and work in the UK and vice versa. Despite the existence of similar agreements with countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, Starmer has consistently dismissed the notion of establishing such a program with the EU.
