Passports, pets and GB stickers: the Brexit advice issued to Britons

Renew your passport earlier than planned, buy a GB sticker for your car, and prepare to wait four months before you can take your ferret on holiday: these are all among the snippets of advice offered by the government’s new Brexit website for British citizens planning to travel to the EU after 31 October. The Get Ready site, which is accompanied by a major advertising campaign, launched on Sunday and unequivocally states that Brexit will happen by the end of next month. It asks users a series of multiple choice questions and spells out the precautions that individuals should take immediately to make sure they are prepared for the UK to crash out of the EU without a deal.

The starting page on the Get Ready website

READ ALSO:
How Brexit can CRACK DOWN on evil puppy smugglers - RSCPA urge MPs to act

British citizens

British citizens resident in the UK who have become used to easily travelling across Europe are warned to ensure that their passport has at least six months to run and told they may once again have to pay roaming charges on their mobile phones. They are also recommended to allow extra time for border checks at ports and airports and told to make sure they have travel insurance as the European health insurance card – which covers the cost of state-provided healthcare in EU countries – will not be valid in the event of a no-deal exit.

Get Rid of Skunk Smell with Hydrogen Peroxide & Baking Soda. Did your dog get skunked? You can get rid of that nasty skunk smell from your dog using some soap, peroxide & baking soda.

People taking their UK-registered vehicles abroad will have to carry additional paperwork proving their ownership of the vehicle and potentially obtain an international driving permit, while British drivers will face a fine if they do not stick a large GB sticker on their rear bumper, even if they already have the country listed on their numberplate.

Pets

Pet passports, which have made it easy for people who regularly travel abroad to take their cat, dog or ferret overseas, could become invalid in the event of no deal, with owners warned it could take up to four months to get the appropriate paperwork and blood tests from vets.

READ ALSO:
Brexit’s spirit animal is a very fed-up pug

EU citizens in the UK

Although the Get Ready site largely collates existing government advice, the list of suggestions spells out in exacting detail the impact Brexit will have on people and businesses. EU citizens living in the UK are reminded to apply to the settlement scheme “as soon as possible” if they want to remain in the country, while European students are warned that their Erasmus+ placements at British universities may no longer be valid.

INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: Having a dog in the house means more bacteria enters the home and gets inside the occupants (one study found “dog-related biodiversity” is especially high on pillowcases.) In turn, people with dogs seem to get ill less frequently and less severely than people with no pets.

British citizens living in Europe

The advice is not detailed and does not spell out the seriousness of the consequences for Britons settled in Europe in the event of no deal. Under EU law they will become third-country nationals and will not be able to offer services to another EU country automatically or to travel for work in another EU country.

The campaign group British in Europe has frequently protested that the British government has forgotten about them. The new website merely advises that “you may not be able to continue living and using services in the EU if you are not a resident”, without spelling out the gravity of the end of free movement for Britons living in the EU.

READ ALSO:
Cabinet cats are the purrfect distraction

The more complicated warnings are saved for businesses, although the website does not offer a hierarchy of risks. British companies are warned that they may need to pay for extra legal advice, should consider whether they need to appoint agents and representatives based in Europe, and warned of the extra regulation required if they want to continue trading in the EU after Brexit.

Businesses

The site warns manufacturers that they may need to change their labelling, companies that handle the data of EU citizens are told they may no longer be able to access it in the same way, and almost all companies are warned starkly: “You may not be able to trade goods with the EU if you do not get your business ready.”

Make an ice lick by freezing toys, bones, and chicken broth into a cake mold.

Most of the recommended actions are listed with a warning to “do it as soon as possible”, but with fewer than 60 days to go until the planned Brexit day, small businesses checking the website for the first time may not have time to do all the required work.

Those unaffected

However, the site shows that not everyone is affected by Brexit. British nationals who live and work in the UK, do not run a business and have no plans to travel abroad are told to sit back and relax: “Based on your responses, you do not need to take any action to prepare for the Brexit deadline of 31 October 2019.”

READ ALSO:
Pets at Home buys stake in dog-walking service Tailster
Sangha, the Tailster chief executive, said said the company was aiming to consolidate a fragmented market: “Not only do the team at Pets at Home share our vision about how we can bring our services to UK pet owners and drive the growth of our business, but they also share many of our values of putting pets first, and the customer at the heart of what we do.”.