Can my husband travel visa free to a EU/Schengen area on a BRP?

I'm thinking of surprising my husband with a weekend getaway to Spain/Greece/(Any other suggestions?) and I was wondering if he will need to get a visa for any EU or Schengen areas? He immigrated to the UK back in May and after the whole BRP palava we need a little holiday.

An alternative that may be cheaper and involve less hassle would be to take the Eurostar to Bruge.  It's a lovely town with an emphasis on beer and chocolate. 

Not having to pay for airport parking and not suffering air travel hell makes the train pretty attractive.

Oooh awesome idea didn't think of the eurostar! Will my husband need a visa for that or does his BRP suffice?

If he has a US passport and no adverse immigration history he can travel in the Schengen zone for up to 3 months without a visa. He needs his passport though, the BRP is just for the UK. His UK immigration status isn't relevant in any other countries.

The BRP is irrelevant - the BRP only matters for getting back into the UK again, so it has nothing to do with him visiting other countries - there is no difference between him visiting Europe while living in the UK and visiting while living in the US.

It's his US passport that he will need to show to get into other EU countries... So you just need to look up the immigration requirements for US citizens who want to visit Spain or Belgium or Greece or wherever.

If I remember correctly, he should be able to visit most EU countries for up to 90 days on his US passport without needing a visa. But I would do a Google search for the countries you're interested in just to check.


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Brilliant thanks guys :-). Looks like i can surprise him then :-)

Sorry, I am seriously unqualified to give advice about Visas. 

The Eurostar is great, especially if it's easy for you to get to Kings Cross. 

Paris would also be a place to go, but I prefer Bruge.  If you like the beach, you can book a hotel in Ostend, which is cheaper than Bruge but has a great beach.

Check the Guardian for good travel deals.

Do you drive?  Another option would be to take the tunnel and go to Bolougne Sur Mer.  It's a 4 hour trip from London, but it's France and there's a great aquarium.

If you live on the South Coast, there's always the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry.  Dieppe is a pretty town with a busy market on Saturday

Thanks jimbocz :-) we live in Dartford so we're pretty close to london and ebbsfleet for the eurostar :-). I drive but I dont fancy driving to France this year haha :-P

No problem, don't forget to check the Guardian, they run a package deal that includes tickets and hotel.

Awesome thank you! I might even do the cheesey romantic evening in paris haha. He's never seen Europe so I want to show it to him :-). I found it fascinating that a lot of Americans, understandably, don't bother  leaving the country!

That's different, if he's never been to Europe then it has to be Paris. 

I agree haha I think il take him on a daytrip to Paris and maybe a river cruise . Hopefully a trip up the eiffel tower too ❤️

I love Brugge but Paris is amazing too! We took an evening river cruise and I highly recommend it, it was so pretty with everything lit up. (Though we were there in November so nightfall was a lot earlier!) We were there with our toddler and I told my husband that someday we're coming back without kids! Too many lovely wine bars and restaurants we had to miss out on!

That sounds amazing! I really want the the whole romantic city break with the better half, I hope he likes it! Im super excited to surprise him. I think he needs it tbh, since he's moved he hasn't really had the chance to make new friends or go exploring at the moment and I think being at home all the time while he job hunts is a bit frustrating for him

if he's never been to Europe then it has to be Paris.

Paris or Rome?