Support thread for those with family abroad

[Schulte]

Anyone interested in a support thread for those of us who have family abroad, and don't know if we can see them this year? I had started to feel all positive and optimistic about going back to my home country this summer to see my parents, but it's now looking far from certain and I'm feeling increasingly depressed.

I thought maybe we can cheer each other up and share the latest on border openings, how and where to get tests for travel, etc.

Anyone?

Sorry meant to say, hugs to all stuck and not seeing family for so long, it has been incredibly hard.

Hope you enjoy your trip @Humphriescushion x

Can I join....
Family in Finland, not seen them for two years. I am so done with this shit. The testing protocol is a new racket just like the PPE racket and will make trips home completely unaffordable for me and my 3 DC.

Welcome @Powerdough
Pull up a seat

@humphriescushion How come you won't have to quarantine in France on your return?

Thanks Schulte and others for this thread, I'm bored of the North Korea crowd here and elsewhere screeching to close the "boarders". Haven't seen family in almost a year and it's really getting to me now. Will go for a month and have factored in testing and isolation. I hope things will get easier by the end of August when we're due to fly back.

[quote QuimReaper]@humphriescushion How come you won't have to quarantine in France on your return?[/quote]
From June 9th you can travel to France from the UK with a negative test. Quarantine is not necessary.

www.france24.com/en/france/20210604-france-reopens-for-foreign-tourists-but-with-conditions

If you are travelling from an EU country then you don't need a test if you have had both vaccinations.

@RedQueen81

Thanks Schulte and others for this thread, I'm bored of the North Korea crowd here and elsewhere screeching to close the "boarders". Haven't seen family in almost a year and it's really getting to me now. Will go for a month and have factored in testing and isolation. I hope things will get easier by the end of August when we're due to fly back.

I have to put my head above the parapet here and say I’m very much pro border control and then opening up travel corridors with other countries that have border control & negligible covid cases.

Very much against the absolute racket that is testing in the U.K. though. It doesn’t seem to cost this much anywhere else.

This is a muddle:

Gibraltar is a British Overseas territory.

Gibraltar is on the UK green list
Spain is on Gibraltar’s green list
But Spain is on the UK amber list.

So Spain is both highly risky and perfectly safe to Brits! If you want to fly to the UK from Gibraltar you have to tell them if you’ve been in Spain. I wonder what would happen if you “forgot” and how they’d know...

(Being a stereotypical law abiding Brit I’m not brave enough to do that in reality!)

Wonder what happens if the plane to Gibraltar diverts to Málaga which can happen fairly frequently?

I'll join too! We go in the red list tomorrow morning 4am. The majority of the expat population vanished this weekend. We couldn't, very disappointed about grandparents and shopping in Home Bargains 🤣 but at least we've got exciting summer plans ahead. On the bright side, no SIL! Bliss! 😁

Yes some are making a lot of money out of PCR tests. It's expensive and annoying.

Of course the virus is brought in by people travelling - I was not happy last February and early March to see families with coughing kids coming back from their skiing trips to my son's nursery. We have moved on a lot since then though and with high vaccination rates it should be easier to travel this year, not harder. Last summer we went abroad and came back during travel corridors without testing and quarantine, this year we will be fully and partly vaccinated and still need tests and self- isolation.

Agree on sensible border policy/ control until most people are fully vaccinated in the UK - was referring to judgemental and slightly hysterical comments I've seen on other threads.

I think most people without family abroad simply can’t understand how it feels being kept apart and cut off from your roots... luckily I have a lot of RL friends who are also from abroad so I get to vent to them on a regular basis

@Schulte

I think most people without family abroad simply can’t understand how it feels being kept apart and cut off from your roots... luckily I have a lot of RL friends who are also from abroad so I get to vent to them on a regular basis

I know, some people are saying they wish they were in Australia - definitely not for me if it means I can't see my parents and brother for 3 years or even longer! (I don't care how "normal" life seems there). I feel for all the Aussies and N Zealand folks stuck in the UK this past year.

My family in Australia is locked down again (Melbourne), I'm quite glad I'm not there. Although my sister has said it may turn out to be a good thing as lots more rushing to get vaccinated now.

On a related note, does anyone know what the "4 years and below" means in relation to children's age and self- isolation tests when back in UK? My son will be 4yrs and 6 months in August when we return to UK - will he need these tests or not? He will not be 5 so I assume not, but I might be wrong. Has anyone returned recently with a child that age under amber country rules?

Thanks for replying to question @missmopple I was out. Exactly as you said and much easier now.

much easier now.

Until they change the rules again!

It is just as complicated here in France - new guidance seems to pop up every other day and it is hard to keep track of exactly how many pieces of paper we need to have.

Don't get me started on my vaccine passport being in my maiden name which I haven't used for nearly 40 years. That is going to make travelling "interesting"!

However, we still don’t know what’s happening with older children travelling to France, or do we? Mine won’t be vaccinated but I assume travelling with mum and dad is a compelling enough reason?

@CrimsonImp

My family in Australia is locked down again (Melbourne), I'm quite glad I'm not there. Although my sister has said it may turn out to be a good thing as lots more rushing to get vaccinated now.

I have family there too, but they're too young to get the vaccine right now. They have a close family member in the UK who has cancer and are just desperate to go over and see her. It's all so shit.

Oh no ☹️ Australia is so tough with its borders.

Can I join in? Kiwi legal alien in the UK. . .

It's wearing pretty thin. In one week, one parent has had a bad fall, suffering broken bones and concussion (in their 80's), another has had a micro-stroke and needs significant heart surgery, one sibling has had a potentially life threatening and immobilising injury, and another sibling has been diagnosed with breast cancer, requiring an urgent masectomy!

And there is no way we can get home!

Add to that, certain, daaaahling members of the family, who are wont to say 'well, you made your choices, these are the consequences', and really rub our noses in the disparity between conditions over here and conditions over there.

It's bad enough when it's utter strangers and keyboard warriors, another when it's your own fricking kith and kin.

Oh so sorry @mbosnz, that must be awful i cant imagine.how hard that must be, and some family crowing as well - awful.

@Schulte

I think most people without family abroad simply can’t understand how it feels being kept apart and cut off from your roots... luckily I have a lot of RL friends who are also from abroad so I get to vent to them on a regular basis

It is becoming very hard to listen to others moan about not having had a foreign holiday and having to postpone trips to 2022 or even 2023. They joke and brush it off saying 'oh well a staycation it is'. I realise it's not meant with any malice but the thought of not being able to travel and see my family until then is just heartbreaking.

Ah, thanks @humphriescushion - looks like quarantine is still necessary for anyone not fully vaccinated for two weeks I'm yet to understand what a 'compelling reason' is too!