About Us / Website
About Us
180daysvisa-free.org is the name used by a small group of individuals actively lobbying for 180 days of visa-free travel to the EU after the Brexit transition period ends on 31st December 2020.
We are a very small team of 2 volunteers, Alan Jones and Steven Jolly, supported by an editor. Initially, we were drawn together by our common concerns about having access to a second home in Europe and how the Schengen 90/180 day rule will affect us but our mission is to represent anyone who will be affected by the Schengen rule from January 2021.
At times, we form focus groups drawn from followers of our Facebook page who kindly help us with specific aspects of the campaign.
Individually, we all voted and campaigned for the UK to remain part of the EU. We have since championed the protection of citizens’ rights and have been lobbying MPs for some time specifically about travel mobility.
In March and April 2020, statements from the UK government indicated its intention to press ahead with negotiations with the EU and stated that travel arrangements were not on the agenda. This compelled us to join forces and to escalate our action.
The proposition of 180 days visa-free travel arose after looking at what was possible politically and what could be implemented relatively easily by both the UK and the EU. We are seeking 180/360 from the EU; this is conceptually similar to Schengen but with a control period which is twice as long.
In early September, it became clear that negotiating time was running out and that the UK Government had no intention of seeking reciprocity. Because each of us on the team has a second home in France, we decided that we would focus our efforts on trying to secure a bilateral agreement with France for long stay visas.
We welcome opportunities to work with other groups who share our mission. If you represent a group that will be adversely affected by the Schengen rule and believe that working together could strengthen the campaign, then contact us here
If you haven’t already done so, please follow our Facebook Page. https://bit.ly/180days-Facebook
Website
Detailed information about the website may be found here