Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear of the difficulties you have experienced in relation to UK withdrawal arrangements and the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Under EU legislation, UK nationals do not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in every 180-day period. As you may know, this is in line with the EU Schengen Border Code for third-country nationals which includes UK citizens.
It was regrettably not possible to agree EU-wide provisions on visits of longer duration in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The EU consistently maintained that UK citizens be treated as third country nationals during the negotiations much to my disappointment. For this reason, longer visits are instead subject to the rules and regulations in place in each EU member state.
EU citizens are able to visit the UK for six months without a visa. This is the UK's standard offer to all third country nationals who do not require a visa to come to the UK.
I hope that the new Government will continue regular talks with the European Commission and EU member states at both political and official levels to manage the impact of the introduction of ETIAS for British Citizens.
For further information on travelling to the EU, I would encourage you to visit the following address: www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein
With regards to the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment, I have been working hard holding the government to account over their terrible decision to revoke this vital lifeline for pensioners not in receipt of pension credit, and you can be assured that I will continue to fight in Parliament on behalf of my affected constituents in Beverley and Holderness.
Since the current government announced its decision to remove the Winter Fuel Payment, I have launched my Protect our Pensioners campaign. On the 13th September I held a very successful protest to bring more focus and attention to this pressing issue. If you would like to join my campaign, you are welcome to do so by visiting here: https://www.grahamstuart.com/news/labour-votes-strip-pensioners-winter-fuel-payment-graham-vows-fight-it
I thank you once again for your support.
