US Citizen Arriving at LHR, but going to Scotland
 

Hi,

Sorry, not BA specific but I couldn't find the 'post new thread' button in the general travel forum. Please move my post if required.

Onto my question, has anyone any experience of the above subject?
My girlfriend is a US citizen and resident. Before Covid, I would travel there every 2.5 weeks (on a tourist visa) but obviously that's no longer allowed. I'm UK citizen/resident.

I've read online that, as she is coming from a non-red zone country, she could arrive at LHR and transit to Scotland and quarantine at my house, not a hotel. My preference would be to collect her at LHR and drive north.

Does anyone have any experience of this? Is there any danger that, if she took a connecting flight LHR to EDI, that she would end up on the hook for 10 days in a hotel once she lands in EDI?
Or does all go ok - land at LHR, then you're basically free to get to Scotland however you like?
Is she allowed to travel north by train, if need be? Or is private car required to avoid contact with other people?

Any advice is appreciated. Other than "why not wait another x amount of months?" - we've done that, and are thoroughly scunnered with it!

Many thanks in advance.

Here is a link which should answer your questions.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/co...nationaltravel

No, it doesn't. I am asking people for their experience (see bold parts above).

So I am not really convinced you are allowed to leave Scotland for the purposes of driving to LHR to pick her up. I would suggest that strictly this isn’t allowed for you.

In terms of requirements for her, either flying up from LHR or getting the train should be fine. She will have to present her pre arrival test and PLF on arrival at LHR of course. I think flying would probably be better since it’s much quicker and doesn’t require her to cross London to the train station. She can do her self isolation at home with you.

It depends on your attitude to risk and breaking the law. Depending on your moral compass, you will see the law in that article from redrose59.
The sanctions are significant and are being enforced. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/new...el-fail-dubai/
I will leave it to your conscience.

I don’t see any law breaking here? Some one from the US landing at LHR and transiting to Scotland needs to self isolate in Scotland (acknowledged by the OP) but does not have to go in to enforced hotel quarantine in England or Scotland.

US isn't on the red list though. There was a family who flew from the US via Dublin and went into hotel quarantine in Scotland and then were asked to leave the next day as it was a mistake.

Fine to travel directly to a place to self isolate in Scotland - just need to get a pre-departure test, complete the PLF & buy the day 2 & 8 test kits.

Nicola Krankie would disagree. All international arrivals into Scotland must use hotel quarantine. From the link posted above:

"If you arrive in Scotland from abroad via another part of the UK you must follow the rules that are in place in Scotland when you arrive. From 15 February, all arrivals to Scotland from outside the Common Travel Area must book and pay for managed isolation in quarantine hotels to help protect against the importation of COVID-19"

yes. Just to be clear about the rules - all international arrivals in to Scotland need to go in to hotel enforced quarantine, but if you are arriving from somewhere else in the Common Travel Area you do not but obviously self isolation still applies. The obvious result of this is anyone with any sense is arriving at an airport in England or Ireland before connecting on to their destination of Scotland.

The OP's gf is arriving in Scotland from inside the CTA. I can assure you that what the OP is suggesting is legally fine. It is only those who arrival directly in to Scotland from outside the CTA who need to go in to enforced hotel quarantine. Those who arrive elsewhere in the CTA first and then travel on to Scotland do not have to enter enforced hotel quarantine in Scotland.

I suspect that the chance of being stopped is reasonably low but the top-level guidance says:"Travel to or from Scotland without a reasonable excuse is prohibited by law. See exceptions for which travel is permitted, but please avoid travel for even those reasons unless it is essential."

In the exceptions for which travel is permitted, reuniting with one's other half (desirable though that of course may be) doesn't seem to be on that list of exceptions. If the OP's other half could determine that the OP's home is also her home, then she might be able to say she's returning home, but the OP says she is a US resident.

Others might have different views of course!

Interesting point. It seems the regulation on entering Scotland seems to only apply to those living within the CTA.

Thanks for all of your input. I have been through page after page of guidance on this, and it's just worded in such a contrived manner that I end up getting nowhere.

But I interpret it as KARFA says and, whilst I acknowledge the restrictions on travel between UK areas, I think we will take a chance on that.

Thanks for everyone's contribution on this, it genuinely is much appreciated.

Can she just take the train up? Has to be better than you doing the round trip.

Can you quarantine with other people in the UK? In Canada you need to have separate space and stay away from each other for 14 days, for obvious reasons. Hard to imagine you doing that with your GF in the same place.

yes you can do this, but from a partical pov it’s probably easier to connect on to a flight north from LHR.

yes that’s fine for her to self isolate with him. He doesn’t need to also self isolate (unless she had been in or transited a red list country in the last 10 days).