Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
principle you can carry as much in the way of duty-paid goods as you want, so long as it
is for personal use. Note that Andorra, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and the Chan-
nel Islands are outside the EU for customs purposes. Remember that if you are carrying
prescribed drugs of any kind, it might be a good idea to have a copy of the prescription to
showtosuspiciouscustomsofficers.NotealsothatallEUmembersrestricttheimportation
from outside Europe of meat, fish, eggs and honey.
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Drugs
It's hardly necessary to state that drugs such as amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, LSD and
ecstasy are illegal all over Europe, and although use of cannabis is widespread in most
countries, and legally tolerated in some (famously in the Netherlands, for example), you
are never allowed to possess more than a tiny amount for personal use, and unlicensed sale
remains illegal. Penalties can be severe (in certain countries, such as Turkey, even posses-
sion of cannabis can result in a hefty prison sentence) and your consulate is unlikely to be
sympathetic.
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Electricity
The supply in Europe is 220v (240v in the British Isles), which means that anything on
North American voltage (110v) normally needs a transformer - or at least a plug adapter
if the power cord has a built-in transformer. Some countries (notably Spain and Morocco)
still have a few places on 110v or 120v, so check before plugging in or you could fry your
electronics. British and Irish sockets take three rectangular pins, elsewhere they take two
roundpins.Atravelplugwhichadaptstothesesystemsisusefultocarry.See kropla.com
for more.
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Entry requirements
Citizens of the UK (but not other British passport holders), Ireland, Australia, New Zeal-
and, Canada and the US do not need a visa to enter most European countries (current ex-
ceptions are listed in the Visa alert! box below), and can usually stay for between one and
three months, depending on nationality. EU countries never require visas from British or
Irishcitizens.Alwayscheckvisarequirementsbeforetravelling,astheycananddochange;
this especially applies to Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and South African citizens
intending to visit Eastern European countries.
Twenty-six countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Lux-
embourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
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