Holiday

[rosiew]

Hi All. We are going to the Canary Islands in November this year. Will the Brexit affect our holiday at all. Another question, will leaving the EU affect the Duty Free that we are allowed to bring back from The Canaries to the UK.

[ichkeria]

The Canaries aren’t in the EU as far as I know

[rosiew]

No they are not in the EU so you are only allowed a certain amount. I was wondering if this will change after Brexit.

[bhg481]

They are part of Spain, so they are in the EU. Duty free etc will depend on exactly how (and when) we exit the Eu, so impossible to give a definitive answer.

[bhg481]

I stand corrected - whilst they are a Spanish province they don't have all the EU conditions, so ignore my earlier post.

[Prudie]

No-one knows how it will affect your holiday at all but I'm sure you will be allowed home! The Canaries already only allow the minimum 200 cigs etc etc anyway now (they are not part of the EU where duty is concerned) so I can't see it getting any worse as far as what you can bring back.

[New Judge]

Returning from the Canaries is no different to returning from the USA as far as dutiable goods are concerned. Brexit should therefore have no effect on that.

[Buenchico]

Although (as part of Spain), the Canary Islands are within the EU, they've always had special tax status, which means that they're regarded as 'non-EU' as far as personal imports are concerned.

So, just as when travelling back from other non-EU countries (such as the USA), you're restricted to bringing back the following without getting clobbered by HMRC:

16 litres of beer

4 litres of non-sparkling wine (excluding fortified wines, such as port or sherry)

EITHER 1 litre of spirits OR 2 litres of sparkling or fortified wines.

200 cigarettes OR 100 cigarillos OR 50 cigars OR 250g of tobacco.

Those rules won't change after the UK leaves the EU. However (unless there's some type of deal struck) they will then apply to imports from ALL EU countries (e.g. France or Spain) as well as to the Canaries and non-EU countries.

At present UK citizens travelling to the Canary Islands are entitled to receive the same health care as local residents get, simply by presenting their EHIC. If there's a 'no deal' Brexit (or if there's a deal that doesn't include health care), all EHICs held by UK citizens will cease to be valid.

At present, mobile phone companies are obliged to charge you the same rates for using your phone in the Canary Islands as they do in the UK. (i.e. 'roaming charges' are banned). That obligation will cease under a 'no deal' Brexit (or possibly with a deal that doesn't cover roaming charges), so you could end paying a great deal more to use you phone abroad.

Nobody can be certain as the effect that Brexit will have upon the value of the pound but the majority opinion is that you'll get fewer euros for each pound when you come to exchange your money. At present the official exchange rate is €1.09 for each pound but it's closer to parity (i.e. £1 = €1) in many places. That's expected to fall a bit (possibly to £1 = €0.90) with a deal for Brexit or rather more (possibly to £1 = €0.80) if there's no deal.

[alavahalf]

If you have any space in your suitcase ..
.. bring me a bottle of 'Ron Miel .. Indias'

[New Judge]

Just as a point of pedantry, there is no "Duty Free" allowance for travel between EU countries. All goods must have the relevant duty paid at their point of purchase. In theory there is no limit to the amount of such goods that you can bring into the UK provided they are for your own consumption, not for resale, etc. In practice HMRC imposes artificial limits on the amount they will allow you bring in without a stewards' enquiry. This is in fact contrary to EU law. But lots countries take measures to overcome EU laws that they don't particularly like.

[Buenchico]

>>> Just as a point of pedantry, there is no "Duty Free" allowance for travel between EU countries

As a point of even greater pedantry, there IS a duty-free allowance when travelling back from the Canary Islands (which are most definitely part of the EU), due to their special tax status. It's the normal 'duty paid' rules which cease to apply.

[ichkeria]

That’s right Buenchico I remember now: I’m the EU but not subject to the same duty free.
I wouldn’t have thought it would make any difference therefore. Especially as we’re likely still to be in the EU with any luck :-)

[New Judge]

//As a point of even greater pedantry, there IS a duty-free allowance when travelling back from the Canary Islands (which are most definitely part of the EU), due to their special tax status.//

Yes, 'Chico, as I pointed out in my earlier post. But I agree my post is misleading in that respect. Thanks for the clarification.