Advice - General / Visas and paperwork for travel for work

If you need to travel from the UK to another country to do journalism, you need to check whether you need a visa and, even if you do not, whether you need a work permit.

You also need to check whether you need documentation for equipment that you are taking – cameras and computers for example – to avoid being charged import duties.

We present what we know about travel to the EU and US. If you are travelling to do work elsewhere it is best to assume that you need a visa.

You may, sometimes, get away with travelling as a tourist. But especially if your reporting may annoy the powerful, it is better to follow the rules – even to be sarcastically compliant. Perhaps particularly in the case of the US, being detected working without the proper authorisation can lead to your being permanently excluded from the territory. Immigration officers everywhere have wide latitude to detain or expel you.

The requirement for visas or work permits is a predictable result of the UK government's insistence on closing UK borders to "foreigners", despite the EU having in 2021 proposed special and mutual arrangements for journalists and performers.

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides that EU member states have the option of requiring a work permit for any length of stay, and of requiring a visa. A work permit is in some countries a variety of "residence permit". Some countries appear to have difficulty with the concept "freelance".

We find nothing in the Agreement that deals directly with the vexed question of UK subjects with residence in an EU member state who need to travel to work in a different member state. So you need to check before you travel whether the member state in which you plan to do journalism requires a work permit.

Exceptions - but not for doing journalism

There are EU-wide exceptions for travel to meetings about journalism and for attending trade fairs to promote yourself. As far as we can tell, for these purposes you rock up at the border and make like a tourist (though doing so holding written evidence on paper of the purpose of your visit seems an excellent idea).

The Schengen area

The Schengen area is a group of countries that have abolished border controls for travel between them. It is named after the place in Luxembourg where the agreement was signed in 1985.

Any UK citizen may visit - but not necessarily work in - the "Schengen area" for 90 days out of any period of 180 days without a visa. We flag below as "SA" the countries that are members of this border-free zone. The limit applies to the area as a whole. So if you spend 45 days in Germany starting on 1 June and immediately go to Greece for 45 days you've run out of visa-free travel until the end of the 180-day period, which falls on 28 November.

But some countries require you to apply for a visa if you plan to do any work. We flag below those notified to the European Commission by 11 July 2023.

What to do, then?

If you need a "Schengen visa", you should apply at your local Embassy of the country that will be the main focus of your trip, even though the point of the Schengen Area is that travel within it is visa-free.

The charge for making a visa application depends on the country to which you apply. Charges vary quite widely - but you must follow the above rule for deciding to which country you should apply.

In fact, you should inquire of your local Embassy for every country in which you plan to do work - to be sure what its current requirements are. Below we give a link to the homepage of the UK Embassy of each country that is a member of the EU or of the Schengen Area (SA). We also give any further information we have found. Please note that countries' visa requirements and methods of application change surprisingly frequently. Do check for yourself.

You should carry a passport issued within the past 10 years that has 6 months or more left to run. (Some trips may be possible on a passport with 3 months left, but be safe.)

You should hold a return ticket, documentation of where you will be staying and be able to show you can support yourself financially for the duration. (There may be exceptions to these requirements, but be safe.) Some countries require travel or health insurance.

Many applications forms and portals for visas and permits specify that you should allow 15 days. Longer is better. We have not (yet) investigated application fees. Many countries require documents to be submitted in their own language.

Taking equipment

Journalistic, film and broadcasting equipment is specifically exempted from import duty, in regard to visits "for purposes of reporting". That would include cameras and computers. You do need documents for your kit, to show that it is yours and you are bringing it back, though. The UK government gives advice on using a "customs carnet" document (which costs £344.40 to non-members of the London Chamber of Commerce) or instead preparing a "duplicate list" to present with a form C&E1246.

It looks as though it's wise to get an EORI number - an "Economic Operator Registration and Identification", which you use to identify yourself on that "form C&E1246". Your application may take "up to 5 days" to process.

• Austria (Embassy) [EU, SA] A visa appears to be required for work visits: "you would need a residence and work permit before you can start to work in Austria or a visa, if the intended stay for work is shorter than six months." Visa applications are processed by VFS Global (Austria).
• Belgium (Embassy) [EU, SA] As a journalist you are exempt from the requirement to have a "professional card " so long as you do not work in Belgium for more than 90 days.
• Bulgaria (Embassy, in Bulgarian and visa information in English.) [EU] The 90-day rule applies for non-work visits. Check this page from the Ministry in Sofia.
• Croatia (Embassy Consular Section) [EU] No visa required. We find no evidence of work permit requirements for short stays. In 2021 we found a document stating that you are supposed to register your presence on arrival, but it has since disappeared.
• Cyprus (Embassy - High Commission) [EU] Cyprus has not told the EU Commission what is required. Assume for the moment a visa is required; apply through VFS Global (Cyprus).
• Czech Republic (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa required for "persons accredited in the field of media". We find no evidence of work permit requirements for such stays: do check with the Embassy or the Ministry of the Interior.
• Denmark (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa required. Work permit required: we think you apply through VFS Global (Denmark).
• Estonia (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa is required for visitors. There are no work permits as such. The police don't require journalists to register your residence, but they do want you to be accredited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which may take 30 days.
• Finland (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa required. A residence permit is required if you are working for a Finnish client: see the Finnish Immigration Service.
• France (Embassy) [EU, SA] It says here: "UK citizens going to France to work for up to 90 days will not require a visa. They will need to obtain a temporary work permit unless travelling for a sporting, cultural or scientific event, a seminar or trade show, the production and broadcast of cinematographic and audiovisual works, modelling..."
• f necessary, apply for a visa here. You can apply for a visa that is endorsed with permission to work.
• Or apply for a titre de séjour (residence permit) thus endorsed. Your application is made to the préfet (regional governor) of the place where you intend to work.
• This advice site mentions standalone temporary work permits but we're damned if we can see where you apply.
• Germany (Embassy) [EU, SA] A visa appears to be required for work visits. It says here: "British citizens and their non-EU family members will be subject to all German immigration rules for third-country nationals.". Apply, we think, through TLS-contact (Germany).
• Greece (Embassy) [EU, SA] A visa appears to be required for work visits: at the start of 2021 the EU Commission reported that "there is no final decision on the prerequisites for UK nationals who wish to carry out a paid activity." Applications for visas are through Global Visa Center (Greece).
• Hungary (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa required, though Hungary states: "we reserve the right to revisit our position on this issue in light of the evolution of relevant UK legislation and the ongoing negotiations on the future EU/UK relationship." The Freelance believes that a work permit (residence permit for the purpose of gainful activity) is required. See this Hungarian government FAQ.
• Iceland (Embassy) [SA] A visa appears to be required for work visits - apply through VFS Global (Iceland). An application for a work permit must be endorsed by the relevant trade union.
• Ireland (Embassy) [EU] UK nationals have the rights to travel to and to work in Ireland under the Common Travel Area principles first set out in 1922 and reaffirmed in 2019.
• Italy (Embassy) [EU, SA] It says here: "The exemption from the requirement for a short-stay visa will also apply in cases where British citizens enter Italy to perform paid work, subject to reciprocal arrangements for Italian citizens in the UK." It doesn't look as though the UK has indeed offered this exemption to Italian citizens. This Ministry of the Interior page clarifies that British citizens entering Italy to undertake paid work for more than three months must apply for a residence permit within eight working days of entering Italy.
• Latvia (Embassy) [EU, SA] A visa appears to be required for work visits: see application form. (As a self-employed person you will need an "original signed letter from a solicitor, accountant or Companies House confirming self-employment status."
• Liechtenstein (Represented in London by Switzerland) [SA] A visa appears to be required for work visits.
• Lithuania (Embassy) [EU, SA] A visa appears to be required for work visits; apply through VFS Global (Lithuania).
• Luxembourg (Embassy) [EU, SA] A visa is not required. A work permit may not be required if journalism counts as either "the entertainment industry" or "providing services". See conditions of residence for self-employed third-country workers and check with the Embassy.
• Malta (Embassy - High Commission) [EU, SA] No visa required. Work permit probably required: see Identity Malta.
• Netherlands (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa required; but this page says "If you will be working in the Netherlands for less than 90 days, your employer must apply for an employment permit for you (Dutch) from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV)" - we read somewhere in 2023 that you should allow five weeks. We've not yet found any mention of freelances. See also the page on applying for a short-stay visa and note that the fee is currently €80.
• Norway (Embassy) [SA] No visa required. A residence permit is required if you are working for a Norwegian client or for more than three months: see here.
• Poland (Embassy) [EU, SA] It says here: "As a rule, the requirement to obtain a work permit will apply". See this apparently-helpful page from the City of Poznan.
• Portugal (Embassy) [EU, SA] Visa required for work visits "subject to reciprocity and overall EU-UK relations". Forms to apply for a Schengen visa are here and that for a "Residence Permit for self-employed workers without a residence visa" is probably here.
• Romania (Embassy) [EU] A visa is probably required: see this status checker and application form. (It says visas are required for "economic activity" but not for "business" visits of 90 days or less.)
• Slovakia (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa required. It appears you may need a "single permit to reside and work": this information page is aimed at employees, however.
• Slovenia (Embassy) [EU, SA] No visa is required for mere visits. To apply for a "single work and residence permit" see the Employment Service of Slovenia.
• Spain (Embassy) [EU, SA] It looks as though this page about self-employment visas, in Spanish may be what you need.
• Sweden (Embassy) [EU, SA] The EU Commission believes no visa is required. It says here that you do not need a work permit to be a journalist "for a company that does not have a branch office in Sweden". Otherwise, the Embassy refers you to this page on applying for Schengen visas. For work permits it refers to the Swedish Migration Agency.
• Switzerland (Embassy) [SA] No visa is required for mere visits. See Work permits from www.swissinfo.ch.
• United Kingdom This government page is deeply unhelpful on the question of what journalists who are EU citizens need to do. The online visa checker suggests that journalists do need visas - unless we qualify as "entertainers"?
• United States (Embassy) You really, really should obtain a journalist visa (an "I visa"). In March 2024 it cost $185. We think you start your application here.

Again, link addresses change surprisingly frequently. Please let us know if you find where a document has moved to.