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?

Well, we tested out of quarantine ok on day 5 but all got norovirus 🤦‍♀️

@Aria999 Hope you will feel better soon.

Oh that is so unlucky! I hope it passes quickly!

Thanks! Luckily it was mild and we're over it but it messed up my weekend with my sisters. I am the sole driver at the moment (DH left his glasses on the airplane 🤦‍♀️) and I was too sick to drive for a half day so we missed the first day anyway and then had to quarantine for the rest of it as it's so contagious.

And I scraped the hire car after trying to park in the wrong drive then having to back out directly onto a roundabout past an awkwardly shaped low wall.

Wondering what else will go wrong...

I have just seen on daily mail that from 1 August UK expats are allowed back into the UK with no quarantine if they have been double jabbed.

Do you think under 18s also have to be fully vaccinated?

I’ve also read that France is going to be removed from the amber plus

@Howdidigetsoold

I have just seen on daily mail that from 1 August UK expats are allowed back into the UK with no quarantine if they have been double jabbed.

Do you think under 18s also have to be fully vaccinated?

As the UK does not vaccinate the majority of under-18s, it would a bit unfair to demand it from returners.

Fingers crossed they don’t have to be but who knows - they seem to change what it’s required from one hour to the next...

@Howdidigetsoold

I have just seen on daily mail that from 1 August UK expats are allowed back into the UK with no quarantine if they have been double jabbed.

Do you think under 18s also have to be fully vaccinated?

The report in the Guardian also says that if you received your vaccines outside of the UK, you will need to contact your GP in the UK to verify that you have had an acceptable vaccine.

WTF - this is insane.

We have lived abroad for almost 10 years. We don't have a GP in the UK (on account of not actually living there)

Apart from the sheer lunacy of this idea, I am guessing that GPs in the UK are pretty busy at the moment with their actual patients and don't need to be bombarded by requests from people who live abroad and are no longer registered with a UK GP.

Following on from the absolute fiasco of the Beta variant/French geography nonsense, it makes you despair of who is making decisions - they appear to not have the first clue about what it means to live abroad.

I don't think you are even allowed to keep a GP in the UK once you leave the country, are you? They seriously have no clue. You get these stories in the papers that don't question the Government press release and then Twitter says "Hang on a minute, what about Réunion / GPs in the UK etc etc" and then three days later the papers might actually catch up.
Such lazy journalism. And rubbish government policy making.
I despair.

I suspect it's aimed at second home owners who might have got vaccinated abroad, not that of us who live permanently abroad. They are the only people I can think of who might have been vaccinated abroad and still legitimately have a GP in the UK. Maybe armed forces and diplomatic staff, too?

@MumInBrussels

Yes, I suspect that wording does apply to the second-home owners - hope it gets clarified soon.

Meanwhile, it just reads that it is for anyone vaccinated in mainland Europe.

What is it that they think we might have been vaccinated with?
Knock-off "forrin" vaccines from a bloke at the market?
You couldn't make it up even though the UK advisors seem to be

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-travel-ban-delta-covid-b1890682.html

US will not be lifting any travel restrictions ‘in short term’ over Covid Delta variant

‘Given where we are today with the Delta variant, the United States will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point,’ White House official says

And obviously you can't trust foreign doctors to certify that you've actually been vaccinated with a legit vaccine, who knows how they've been trained...

The whole thing is driving me insane. I briefly had hope again this afternoon, but it's gone now. I want to go home!

Me too @MumInBrussels

Let's hope that a proper grown up can be located to explain it all to them in words of one syllable.

I am also noticing that the papers are not reporting the EU countries that are now overtaking the UK in the great vaccination race (Rules and conditions: UK government : Umpire: Boris Johnson).
Seems they won the sprint but forgot to enter the marathon.
Default positions seem to be gloating or silence.
Spooky that.

I was wondering about the whole “contact your GP” part as well. I didn’t think you were meant to keep a GP here plus they all seem so busy. I suspect the government wants to make it sound like the problem has been addressed without actually doing anything.

@HilaryThorpe What is the best place to see vaccination rates? On Statista and Worldindata websites, the only European countries ahead of the UK (in terms of partial vaccination and full vaccination) are Malta and Iceland. This is also what Financial Times reported today. I'm not particularly interested in the European rates (although obviously great news they have massively improved their roll out) but I am interested in other countries where I have family. So would appreciate any tips on how to monitor.

www.euronews.com/2021/07/12/covid-19-vaccinations-in-europe-which-countries-are-leading-the-way

@Howdidigetsoold thank you! Do you know if there is similar for whole world?

ourworldindata.org/coronavirus#coronavirus-country-profiles

Not the same chart but you should be able to find the country you want to compare with

@Howdidigetsoold Thanks so much - found info I wanted.

@myotherusernameistaken

Me too *@MumInBrussels*

Let's hope that a proper grown up can be located to explain it all to them in words of one syllable.

Unlikely. They will just probably mumble something about common sense.

They have announced compulsory vaccination for students, but what happens to the well-paying Chinese students? Will we accept Sinopharm or will they get vaccinated again?

This government does not promote detail-oriented people.

Agree with the frustration here. The rules are bonkers.

We arrived in Germany late last night - a 14 hour journey thanks to the M25 being closed when we set off! But we made it, and crossing the borders was much easier than expected. The Eurotunnel crossing was like in pre pandemic times, nobody even asked to see the vaccination certificate or test results. Perhaps having an EU passport helped though. It was nice and quiet too.

So after all the fretting and anxiety, it can be done... no matter how difficult they make it look