Scots_Al

No restrictions on entry, but as above you are not allowed into the home of someone you from a different household (I.e. with whom you are not normally resident). It is expected to be announced tomorrow that you will be able to meet them outside, and maintain 2m distance, though.

Scots_Al

Really?

angelats

So I am allowed to enter the UK, but they won't let me enter the UK because I obviously have to stay with family because hotels are closed? Why isn't this set out in detail on any of the government's immigration information pages?

rcspeirs

Some hotels are open - for designated key workers who need to work from home for example. Those who need to be away from home for medical treatment would be able to stay at a hotel that is still open.
The restrictions are on travel once you are in Scotland (there are different regulations in all four constituent parts of the UK) and those Regulations are applicable to everyone, whether locally resident or a visitor.
As to why this isn't stated clearly - to answer that perhaps heads too far into a political discussion about the competence (or lack of) of the various agencies involved.

angelats

I understand that (I've been following all of the developments in Scotland for weeks now), but it honestly wouldn't have occurred to me that I would be banned from entering the UK at the moment. The government information only refers to the self-quarantine restrictions after the 8 June. There is no information at all on having to prove that your visit is "worthy" at the moment. I think I'm going to have to seek legal advice about this.....it's very worrying indeed and certainly very different to the situation here in Germany. Since there are hardly any flights from Edinburgh I am not sure what would happen if they turn me away at the border - would I be stuck in the terminal until a flight goes back to Germany?

rcspeirs

As the UK is still in the transition period, you do have the right to enter the UK. The immigration officer cannot turn you back. But he/she can question you and might alert a nearby police officer that they believe you intend to break the Scotland covid restrictions.
The whole issue is massively high profile at the moment (due to the Cummings issue). If your parents have neighbours who can see their property, you run the risk that someone may alert police if they observe a none resident staying nearby. I'm not saying that's likely, but it's not something to be dismissed.

angelats

Well my parents' neighbours have been organising garden parties and inviting their friends over claiming that "we're social distancing, so it's all fine". I will mentally prepare for the questions. Next time they are definitely coming to visit me!

ft101

The British Embassy might be a better place to ask.

Detention cells are quite nice at the moment.

NWIFlyer

It may well be you’re not asked any questions, but as has been pointed out to you - you currently cannot legally visit your parent’s house and go inside. That would be the case in any part of the UK, not just Scotland. If you were reported, the most likely scenario would be that you’d receive words of advice from the police on the regulations but they would tell you to leave the house or be fined (and still have to leave). What exactly would you do then if there were no hotels available? And how would that make you and your parents feel?

You are not alone in this - there are families across the country who have been unable to see each other. It is one of the sacrifices we are having to make.

The thing I really wouldn’t bother doing is wasting money taking legal advice. With the situation relatively fast moving in terms of restrictions being lifted anything you’re told may well be outdated within days or weeks.

If you really need to see your parents then I would wait until the restrictions become aligned with England, which will probably be announced today. Find a hotel that’s open and will take you, then take your daily exercise together whilst social distancing - in England, that exercise can be for as long as you like, wherever you like provided you don’t stay overnight, and you’re also allowed to meet and stop in parks etc. Now technically that does still breach the regulations because you’re only allowed to exercise/meet with one other person from outside your household, but it’s much less likely to be enforced and even if it is it’s still more workable than being kicked out of the house with nowhere to go! It would also be the case that you would be in breach of the regulations but your parents wouldn’t.

angelats

I wish I‘d never posted here. It‘s causing me endless anxiety and I really don’t know what to do now.

I live in a country that now allows us to visit immediate family. Immediate family lives in a country where the border is open and flights are resuming on June 1st. There is a self-quarantine requirement as of June 8th. On the UK government website, the section on „Coronavirus and entering the UK“ uses sentences like:

Your friends or family can collect you from the airport, port or station.

How I am supposed to derive from the information available that I am not allowed to enter my country of birth and travel to the only place I can feasibly go there? This is not the case of a Scottish household meeting up with another Scottish household. My parents‘ household is the only place I have to go in Scotland.

It is important for me to get clarification on this, also because I know of other people in Germany who are currently in the process of organising flights back, so it doesn’t just affect me.

angelats

[QUOTE=NWIFlyer;32409366]

You are not alone in this - there are families across the country who have been unable to see each other. It is one of the sacrifices we are having to make.


I do realise that. I’m not some idiot who doesn’t watch the news. In fact, when new regulations are announced here, I‘ve been known to double check with the police to make sure I‘ve interpreted them properly. I was fully prepared to adhere to all of the rules in Scotland with no plans to meet up with friends, visit other households or do anything else outside my bubble (setting aside the fact that families certainly are still mixing, mainly due to the lack of childcare for key workers, not to mention all of the „mixing“ that goes on when all of those key workers are at work without proper PPE, so believe me, the bigger health risk in this situation is definitely on my side).

I have friends with better legal knowledge than I have so will definitely seek advice now that I evidently risk imprisonment!!! It is very odd that these flights are resuming on June 1st, in light of what I am being told here.

angelats

The British Embassy merely links to the government's "entering the UK during coronavirus" website, which I referred to earlier. There is nothing on there to say that non-residents will be taken into custody if they enter the country.

Scots_Al

I’m quite sure that in reality, it will be absolutely fine - though you should be aware of the theoretical legal risks (and actually the real risk of transmission to your parents of a journey to see them). I’m quite sure it would not be difficult to find some words about caring for older parents if needed to explain your journey.

angelats

Thanks. My parents are still working (in the NHS!) so the risk of transmission to me (living in Germany and working from home permanently) is a lot higher. I'm in touch with a friend who works in the Scottish judiciary to make sure and will cancel my flight if I have to. Alternatively, my parents have said they could move into alternative accommodation for a few days and then we can just meet in the garden (provided that rule is passed later today).

I admit I got over-excited when I saw the flight and booked it right away, but I'm certainly not the only person in this situation - it throws up a lot of questions.

NWIFlyer

It's good that you did. Those of us living in the UK are far more aware of how both the letter and spirit of the law are being applied, and we are probably in a better position to guide you than most others.

You are allowed to enter your country of birth (and presumably citizenship). No-one has said you can't. You're not going to be arrested unless you break the rules, get caught, and are particularly obstructive when the police arrive. You don't strike me as that sort of person! When you get here, just like any other British citizen (or indeed any nationality), you can't currently enter someone else's house. If it's not feasible for you to do anything else than you shouldn't travel.

Now ironically you personally are in a better position when the 14-day quarantine arrives, however perverse that sounds. The section you are quoting from gov.uk sets out the arrangements after the quarantine requirements kick in - not now. Given you will be required to quarantine, the government will want you to do that in a single place which for most people would be their own home, hence why they'd rather the people from that household collected you from the airport rather than you hopped on public transport with lots of strangers. It's pretty clear why - this reduces the risk of community transmission if contained to a single household. The problem may be that everyone in that household may also have to quarantine with you, so it could impact your parents. It's really not clear yet so I suspect you'll have to wait and see. The expectation seems to be that visitors could break the quarantine period early and return home without penalty, so you might be able to just stay a few days, but then you still need to understand if that means your parents need to go through the entire 14 days.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but consider the effect if during the course of your journey you become infected and pass that to your parents - they might well unwittingly in turn transmit it to people using the NHS who are vulnerable. That should be a major consideration of your planning - making sure you can maintain social distancing from them to reduce that risk to something undetectable.