But Brexit negotiations could see holidaymakers forced to apply for a visa before jetting off.
Advertisement
Asked on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday if United Kingdom nationals might be shocked to have to pay for permission to visit France, Rudd replied: “I think they would be surprised”.
Speaking on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr show, Rudd said: “I think [British citizens] would be surprised”.
She added: “My reaction to that is it’s a reminder that this is a two-way negotiation”.
Britain now has a visa system for non-EU nationals, but under European Union rules citizens from within the 28-country bloc are free to live and work in Britain.
The European Commission is reportedly considering introducing a visa programme for the Schengen zone, which is made up of 26 European countries and is passport-free.
The Conservative government came under attack from Labour’s shadow home secretary, Andy Burnham, who said this potential outcome is “yet another example of the drift and confusion as a result of the government’s failure to plan for Brexit”.
However, after Brexit takes place this will no longer be the case, and British citizens may have to apply and pay to visit.
“We’ve ruled it out because it simply doesn’t work”, said Rudd.
She said a work permit system “certainly has value” and “we are not ruling anything out at the moment”.
So far the government has not made an indication of which Brexit model is now favoured, but looks like the ideal arrangement would be one that still allows control over European Union immigration, perhaps with the sacrifice of single market membership, instead of a deal like that of Norway or Switzerland. Everyone is “focused in the same direction”, she said. “The rest of us are in the vehicle”.
Advertisement
Finally, Rudd was asked about about her comments during the Brexit campaign about Boris Johnson being “the life and soul of the party, but he’s not the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening”. The head of the British government, reaffirmed recently that until the beginning of 2017 she will not ask for the activation of Article 50 of the EU Treaty to begin negotiating the withdrawal from the regional organism, a process that could last two years.
