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?

I'm really hoping my parents will be able to visit at some point this year, I haven't seen them since mid 2019. My son is 2 and virtually has no idea who they are, video calling just isn't the same. I'm expecting my 2nd baby in July and this pregnancy has been hard, I just want to hug my mum.

Fingers crossed for you! Pregnancy, new baby, those are times when you really need your mum...

Oh @Schulte, I could have written everything you've written, from cancelling last year's trip because DH was self conscious about being the brit abroad to ordering expensive home food online for my DDs. I'm so stressed and sad and everybody around dismisses it as it will be fine.

At least I’m not the only one watching YouTube videos of people walking/driving around home.

Fingers crossed I might get to see my mum in July. (Not that I’m counting down the days). Hopefully the Indian variant doesn’t get too out of control here and affect the proposed border relaxation at home.

'At least I’m not the only one watching YouTube videos of people walking/driving around home.'

I'm glad others do it too

If you don't know it yet, check out Drive and Listen: driveandlisten.herokuapp.com

Filmed by people driving around various towns all over the world, listening to local radio stations. It's fun!

@Schulte I am not German (Hungarian), but I also buy a lot of German food. Similar to our home fare.
Our last holiday in February 2020 was to Germany. Happy days!

DM is not coming to the UK, as I don't want her to end up in a hospital here (or an immigration removal centre). We must go to her.

I am watching Netflix shows filmed in Budapest 🤦‍♀️

I am fell into a rabbit hole of listening to cheesy pop in my native language - the type I wouldn't touch normally! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Checking in. It’s my husband who is from an amber country the other side of the Atlantic and I feel for him and his parents so much. I miss them, so I hate to think how they feel.
I just wish there was an end point we were give by which time vaccine passports would be accepted or governments realized its endemic in the world and we can see our loved ones again.

@Einszwei

My whole family in the US. If the US haven't removed the travel ban by the start of July, I am going to bite the bullet and spend 2 weeks in Mexico as a third country.

The whole system is ridiculous - having to travel and stay inactive country with a far worse covid situation to be able to enter the US.

It is possible to get valid travel insurance for the US, it is just very very expensive. A cost I am willing to pay to see my family.

That's a good call. Ridiculous as the situation is, I will probably do the same.

Thank you for this thread OP. I'm another one in the US with the rest of the family in the UK. I've bitten the bullet and I'm going back next week for two weeks. With the quarantine and five covid tests, I'm going on my own and leaving my son and dh behind. My dh mum lives in Italy and it's looking like he will be able to get there at the end of June.

I'm double vaccinated, as are my parents and brother. I'm happy to do the quarantine and testing. I'm fed up of trying to justify myself.

Thanks op for the thread. My parents, in-law’s and all relatives are in red list country- India. We are alone in UK with no family and every few friends. It’s been quite tough period for mental well-being considering what’s happening.
When UK was struggling people in india had no restrictions and enjoying their freedom and when cases started to come under control in UK India went into a lockdown. It’s feels like it’s never going to end.

I miss my parents a lot. Hoping and praying Situation will improve and it will b added to amber list, even though I’m sure it’s very unlikely to happen before Summer.

Do you think travel should allowed for Fully vaccinated people to amber and red (with home quarantine)?.

'When UK was struggling people in india had no restrictions and enjoying their freedom and when cases started to come under control in UK India went into a lockdown. It’s feels like it’s never going to end.'

Yes - I know exactly what you mean. It's the same with Germany, they are fine, we're not; we have low numbers, they are in the middle of a peak. It's like a see-saw!

@narniaswardrobe that's exciting that you managed to book a trip - so how does it work? One PCR test before you leave, then quarantining at your parents' and two more tests, then another test on arrival back in the US...? Have you booked them all? It's so encouraging to see that people are managing to travel so please do share the ins and outs

Do you think travel should allowed for Fully vaccinated people to amber and red (with home quarantine)?

Yes, absolutely I think it should be allowed. It's what's being implemented in the EU now with the Covid passport, and a negative test in the past few days, or having recovered from Covid recently, counts too. Since the kids won't be vaccinated for a while!

narniaswardrobe that's exciting that you managed to book a trip - so how does it work? One PCR test before you leave, then quarantining at your parents' and two more tests, then another test on arrival back in the US...? Have you booked them all? It's so encouraging to see that people are managing to travel so please do share the ins and outs

I'm considering doing the same. From what I see, if you're fully vaccinated then once you arrive back in the US there is no quarantining or testing required. It's just coming into the UK that requires both even for people who are fully vaccinated. So frustrating.

if we don't go home this summer it will be the next school hols which means almost three years before we set foot on English soil again. Heartbreaking, saddening but if that is what is needed to beat this then so be it, my MIL was an expat and tells me of her years abroad as an expat ...at least I have zoom, what's app etc to keep in touch. WIth very aged relatives I also don't want to bring anything to them. DCs have fared no better or worse than friends and relatives children in the Uk..it's been hard on them all and they miss their country and family ...but we also feel incredibly grateful in so many ways and have to focus on that.

Has anyone read anything about criteria for getting on the green list? Portugal seems a bit of an outlier on the current list.

We'd prefer to drive over than fly (to Denmark) but that means having to hope for 3 countries on the green list instead of 1.

Schulte ZZTopGuitarSolo
I'm doing a pcr test at CVS three days before and then will have my fingers crossed that the results come back in the 1-2 days they say it will. I've pre-booked my day 2/8 tests through the govt approved list and also a day 5 test to release and paid express postage to return that so if all goes smoothly I can get out of quarantine on day 6. Those three tests have cost 240GBP. I then will need a pcr to fly back here which looks like it will be another 150GBP.

When my test results comes through (hopefully negative), then I will complete the passenger locator form. I'm going to do that last minute as I have a reference code for my prepaid tests that needs to go on the form. If my test result is positive and I need to rebook flights, I will be able to reuse the tests and the code - but I can only use the code once so will wait for my negative result. I've also had an issue with my flight changing to a new arrival day so my 'Day 0' changed which meant I had to arrange for my test kits to arrive a day earlier. It's all so complicated so I'm not going to book my return test until I'm actually in the UK.

But yes, as I'm double vaccinated, other than the test before I fly back, there are no testing or quarantine restrictions back in the US other than monitoring for any symptoms.

It's just too much at the moment to drag my ds back with me unfortunately but hopefully he will be able to go with dh to Italy at the end of June. By then my ds will be double vaccinated so will be able to travel to Italy without testing or quarantine.

So is the PCR before your flight back required by the airline? Or the British government?

‘ We'd prefer to drive over than fly (to Denmark) but that means having to hope for 3 countries on the green list instead of 1’

Yes that’s pretty much the same here, normally on the way to Germany we drive through France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

I’m just full of anger at this situation. I don’t think it’s right people have been separated from their loved ones for so long or that it remains virtually impossible, either due to cost or quarantine requirements, to be able to travel to see family. I just want to scream at all officials - I DONT HAVE COVID! It’s absolutely mental that this has dragged on for so long and I can’t stand the inability to make my own decisions within my own life or the fact that we all have to be treated like we all have covid all day every day. I’ve even had covid with no issue whatsoever and so I severely doubt I can catch it again or become unwell enough to be able to pass it on to anyone else but of course this kind of age old understanding of immunity is currently being ignored and covid is different to every other kind of virus in existence .
I just think it’s time for all governments to revert to what they are supposed to do and offer advice about risks and provide the required level of healthcare (vaccines and hospital treatment etc) but otherwise stop keeping me imprisoned and wrapped in a mask when I’m perfectly healthy and eff off out of my life!!!

I'm so glad we managed to get across at the beginning of August last year, we were in two minds last year about whether travelling was the responsible thing to do. It feels crazy to me that we're potentially more restricted this year despite both of us being fully vaccinated and family over there are also fully vaccinated

Exactly yellow, not only are most at risk people vaccinated in a large proportion of the world already but covid has also had almost 2 years of circulation and time to become endemic in many countries as well. Added to that the fact we now know much more about the virus, who is most at risk and have better treatments, this summer we appear to be in a worse position that last year. Why?

Another stranded family abroad here.

Most of my family are in the UK, we’re in Europe (dp from a 3rd country, but it’s driving distance from where we live, so he’s been back and forth a couple of times). I haven’t been to the UK for over 2 years and haven’t seen my parents since summer 2019 when they came here (haven’t seen siblings for even longer).

We should have gone to the UK for Christmas 2019 but dd was ill so we cancelled thinking to postpone to Easter 2020 instead. Bloody hindsight and all that!

I am so grateful for FaceTime though!

And have also been watching a lot of British programmes (specially Location, Location, Location 😳). I have never felt homesick in the 20 years since I left, but I think it hits you once the choice is suddenly taken away.

Can I join please? We are in Canada, an amber at the moment. Our son and family (2 lovely granddaughters) are in England. We have not seen them in two years. We usually come for a month in the Spring, rent a flat close by and just have a great time. We help out, pay for a short break etc.

It is heartbreaking. Dh just turned 79. Every year matters.

I so hope we can come in September. Writing this made me tear up.