UK’s new start: What you need to know about business travel in Europe

As well as checking the latest official travel advice, if you’re travelling to the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein for business, there are some extra things you’ll need to do.

‘Business travel’ includes things like travelling for meetings and conferences, providing services, doing charity work, and taking part in music or art tours. If you go abroad and work freelance or as a contractor for clients in the UK, this isn’t ‘business travel’.

What to check before you travel to Europe

• entry requirements
  The entry requirements might change – for example, you might need a visa or work permit. Check by country what you’ll need:
  Gov.uk | Check requirements
• qualifications
  Check your professional qualifications will be recognised in the country you’re working in, for example, if you’re an electrician, nurse or lawyer.
  Check by country:
  Gov.uk | Check qualifications
• tax and social security
  You might need to tell HMRC you’ll be working in another country, and you’ll need to check whether you’ll need to pay social security contributions.
  Find out:
  Gov.uk | Working abroad
• insurance
  Check whether you need indemnity insurance for your employees.
  Gov.uk | Indemnity insurance
• if you can take goods
  Most countries have a limit on the value of goods you can bring in duty free. If you’ll be taking goods – even if you’ll be bringing them back to the UK with you – check you’ve got the right documents.
  Gov.uk | Taking goods out of the UK

Get ready – prepare now

The UK Government is still negotiating with the EU so not all the new rules are ready. 

But some of the things British people and businesses need to do to prepare for the new start have to happen regardless of what happens in the negotiations, so it’s sensible to get ready now.

Get started by checking what you need to do:
Gov.uk | Checker

Photo by Andy Beales on Unsplash