Nearly a year of negotiations with the European Union Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) preceded the recent change to EU Regulation 539/2001, which allowed British Overseas Territories Citizens and all other categories of British Nationals visa-free access to the Schengen area.

To mark the collaborative effort between the Overseas Territories and the British Government, the Bermuda Government’s Representative in the United Kingdom sent a statement to the Foreign Office on behalf of all Overseas Territories Representative Offices.

The text of the statement follows:

“As UK based Representatives of the Overseas Territories on behalf of our respective Governments it was a pleasure to have worked in partnership with the Foreign Office and UK Rep Brussels to gain support for the amendment of Regulation EC no. 539/2001. By collective efforts in effective lobbying and technical expertise we were able to achieve visa free access to British Overseas Territory Citizens representing the largest contingent of the remaining four categories of British Nationals. We will continue to work alongside the UK Government to uphold the principles of the White Paper.

The approved amendment will:

1.     Make border control more straightforward for Schengen members states as all categories of British Nationals will be treated the same

2.     The inclusion of all British National categories to the visa exemption list will pose a negligible risk of irregular migration

3.       Encourage people to people contacts, ease of travel for tourists and could offer potential trade benefits (the extended position under the Overseas Association Decision)

4. Facilitate intra-Caribbean travel as BOTCs residing in the UK Caribbean Overseas Territories can travel visa free to other EU Caribbean Overseas Territories.”

Note: The meeting in Brussels at which the agreement to amend the regulation was reached. L to R: Dorothea Hodge – Anguilla Representative to the UK/EU; Barry Bobby-Martin – FCO Overseas Territories Directorate Representative to the EU; Denison Miller – Cayman Islands Government Office in the UK; Kimberley Durrant – Bermuda Representative to the UK/EU; Maryia Gabriel – Rapporteur for the EU Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs; Kedrick Malone – BVI Representative to the UK/EU; Tania Celania – UK Home Office Representative Brussels.