TwelveAngryMen
Well-known member
How can this be right when we aren't allowed in each others houses ?
Naively I have thought the tightening of restrictions was a ' two way ' process
Thousands of tourists are being let in to the country every day even though the government has tightened restrictions on British people going abroad.
Hundreds are arriving on tourist visas issued by the Home Office, according to Border Force staff.
One visa was granted to a tourist from Peru who said on their application form that the reason for their trip to the UK was to “visit Big Ben”.
Of the roughly 20,000 people arriving every day about 40 per cent, or 8,000, are tourists, according to figures compiled by Border Force staff.
Last Monday the government brought in even tougher restrictions on people who try to leave the UK by introducing £5,000 fines for those who go to an airport with the intention of going abroad on holiday.
The tough penalties, which apply to everyone who lives in the UK, were introduced because there was a fear of a mass exodus over the bank holiday.
One member of Border Force staff said: “There are hundreds upon hundreds of arrivals up and down the UK every day from people who are basically coming here on a two-week holiday. There are no grounds to refuse them — arriving during a pandemic isn’t one of them. As long as they’ve got an address where they say they’ll quarantine, and they’ve completed their pre-departure tests, they’ve got their certificates and everything else, they’ve got means and a return ticket, we’ve got no grounds to refuse them.
“We’re still seeing visas issued overseas for people coming over here for a two-week family holiday and while it is permissible if someone is dying, that isn’t what staff are seeing. They’re seeing visas being issued overseas for purposes that people in the UK aren’t allowed to do.”
Lucy Moreton, of the Immigration Services Union, said: “It causes immense distress to Border Force staff to be constantly granting entry to individuals for reasons that would be impermissible for a UK resident. It’s deeply unfair for staff who cannot visit their own family in the UK or abroad who will be fined for doing so from this week to be seeing these numbers of arrivals of people coming to visit family in the UK, let alone go on holiday in the UK.”
Only 1 per cent of arrivals are required to quarantine in a hotel but that number could increase over the coming days given the extra countries added to Britain’s “red list” yesterday. Countries on the banned list include Argentina, Chile, Qatar and South Africa.
All passengers entering the UK must provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken no more than three days before departure, regardless of where they came from. They must complete a passenger locator form with an address for their ten-day quarantine on arrival, with fines for those who fail to comply.
From March 8 all passengers coming into the UK have had to carry a form declaring that their trip is permitted under national lockdown rules.
However, Border Force staff said that they did not have the power to deny them entry as long as they had complied with testing and quarantine requirements.
Last night the Home Office said that it did not recognise the figures provided by Border Force staff but was unable to account for why tourists were issued visas for sightseeing purposes such as visiting Big Ben.
Kevin Foster, minister for future borders and immigration, said: “We do not recognise these figures. We are enforcing tough health measures at the border for the small minority of people coming to the UK, including those entering on a visitor visa for legitimate reasons.
“Since January 2021, we have paused all decisions on visitor visas to applicants applying from a ‘red list’ country or where it is apparent an applicant has visited one of those countries in the last ten days. Border Force officers also have the right to refuse entry to any visitor who they believe has travelled to the UK to carry out activities not permitted under current local health restrictions, such as holidays or tourism, or who will not comply with self-isolation and testing requirements.”
Case study
Anonymous border worker
It is pretty grim working on the border at the moment. The number of travellers is reduced but it is really demoralising to see all these people coming and going on holiday, visiting family when we are not supposed to be able to (Matt Dathan writes).
There are “bucket and spade” flights still, organised by mainstream travel companies; UK residents having their two weeks on an island and coming back; 250 coming back from the Canaries a couple of weeks ago. All with their negative tests and addresses to isolate of course, although none of us know if they will.
Then there are those coming from further away to spend a month with family. My family are two hours away and I haven’t seen them in six months. I miss my family so much, but every day I have to grant entry to people from faraway places who are coming to stay with their family. Yes, they have the negative test, the address of their family where they will stay for the required two weeks before moving on to another family member.
Why is it that we are still granting visas for people to come on holiday to the UK? There was one the other week where the traveller had put on the visa application form as their reason for travelling: “To visit Big Ben.”
Really? In a pandemic.
Naively I have thought the tightening of restrictions was a ' two way ' process
Thousands of tourists are being let in to the country every day even though the government has tightened restrictions on British people going abroad.
Hundreds are arriving on tourist visas issued by the Home Office, according to Border Force staff.
One visa was granted to a tourist from Peru who said on their application form that the reason for their trip to the UK was to “visit Big Ben”.
Of the roughly 20,000 people arriving every day about 40 per cent, or 8,000, are tourists, according to figures compiled by Border Force staff.
Last Monday the government brought in even tougher restrictions on people who try to leave the UK by introducing £5,000 fines for those who go to an airport with the intention of going abroad on holiday.
The tough penalties, which apply to everyone who lives in the UK, were introduced because there was a fear of a mass exodus over the bank holiday.
One member of Border Force staff said: “There are hundreds upon hundreds of arrivals up and down the UK every day from people who are basically coming here on a two-week holiday. There are no grounds to refuse them — arriving during a pandemic isn’t one of them. As long as they’ve got an address where they say they’ll quarantine, and they’ve completed their pre-departure tests, they’ve got their certificates and everything else, they’ve got means and a return ticket, we’ve got no grounds to refuse them.
“We’re still seeing visas issued overseas for people coming over here for a two-week family holiday and while it is permissible if someone is dying, that isn’t what staff are seeing. They’re seeing visas being issued overseas for purposes that people in the UK aren’t allowed to do.”
Lucy Moreton, of the Immigration Services Union, said: “It causes immense distress to Border Force staff to be constantly granting entry to individuals for reasons that would be impermissible for a UK resident. It’s deeply unfair for staff who cannot visit their own family in the UK or abroad who will be fined for doing so from this week to be seeing these numbers of arrivals of people coming to visit family in the UK, let alone go on holiday in the UK.”
Only 1 per cent of arrivals are required to quarantine in a hotel but that number could increase over the coming days given the extra countries added to Britain’s “red list” yesterday. Countries on the banned list include Argentina, Chile, Qatar and South Africa.
All passengers entering the UK must provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken no more than three days before departure, regardless of where they came from. They must complete a passenger locator form with an address for their ten-day quarantine on arrival, with fines for those who fail to comply.
From March 8 all passengers coming into the UK have had to carry a form declaring that their trip is permitted under national lockdown rules.
However, Border Force staff said that they did not have the power to deny them entry as long as they had complied with testing and quarantine requirements.
Last night the Home Office said that it did not recognise the figures provided by Border Force staff but was unable to account for why tourists were issued visas for sightseeing purposes such as visiting Big Ben.
Kevin Foster, minister for future borders and immigration, said: “We do not recognise these figures. We are enforcing tough health measures at the border for the small minority of people coming to the UK, including those entering on a visitor visa for legitimate reasons.
“Since January 2021, we have paused all decisions on visitor visas to applicants applying from a ‘red list’ country or where it is apparent an applicant has visited one of those countries in the last ten days. Border Force officers also have the right to refuse entry to any visitor who they believe has travelled to the UK to carry out activities not permitted under current local health restrictions, such as holidays or tourism, or who will not comply with self-isolation and testing requirements.”
Case study
Anonymous border worker
It is pretty grim working on the border at the moment. The number of travellers is reduced but it is really demoralising to see all these people coming and going on holiday, visiting family when we are not supposed to be able to (Matt Dathan writes).
There are “bucket and spade” flights still, organised by mainstream travel companies; UK residents having their two weeks on an island and coming back; 250 coming back from the Canaries a couple of weeks ago. All with their negative tests and addresses to isolate of course, although none of us know if they will.
Then there are those coming from further away to spend a month with family. My family are two hours away and I haven’t seen them in six months. I miss my family so much, but every day I have to grant entry to people from faraway places who are coming to stay with their family. Yes, they have the negative test, the address of their family where they will stay for the required two weeks before moving on to another family member.
Why is it that we are still granting visas for people to come on holiday to the UK? There was one the other week where the traveller had put on the visa application form as their reason for travelling: “To visit Big Ben.”
Really? In a pandemic.