UK eliminates visa requirements for German school trips

German students no longer have to secure a British visa for educational trips to the United Kingdom. The UK Home Office confirmed to dpa on Wednesday that German school groups are also exempt from applying for an electronic travel authorization (ETA). Furthermore, students can now use their ID cards as proof of identity, making passports unnecessary.

Previously, following Brexit, German students without German citizenship needed individual visas for school visits to the UK. This requirement led some schools to remove the UK from their travel programs to avoid leaving any students behind due to visa denials.

The policy change has been implemented in recent weeks, coinciding with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's three-day state visit to the UK, which began on Wednesday. During the visit, Steinmeier and his wife Elke Bdenbender will be received in Windsor by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, including a carriage procession and military honors. This marks the first state visit by a German president in 27 years.

The German government had been urging the UK to restore group procedures for school trips. This reform is part of the German-British friendship agreement, officially titled the Kensington Treaty, signed during Chancellor Friedrich Merz's UK visit this past summer.

Under the new rules, students up to 19 years old attending a German school or educational institution can take advantage of the simplified group process when traveling in groups of five or more.

Author: Jackson Miller