Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[Telemachus]

Thats interesting, how do they know who has dual nationality?

First, because you're supposed to declare it when applying for or renewing a UK passport, and submit colour copies of all pages of any uncancelled non-British passport you may hold. It's likely there is also functionality in UKBF systems to detect that a passenger presenting an AU or other foreign passport at the UK border has details that match the holder of a British passport.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

First, because you're supposed to declare it when applying for or renewing a UK passport, and submit colour copies of all pages of any uncancelled non-British passport you may hold. It's likely there is also functionality in UKBF systems to detect that a passenger presenting an AU or other foreign passport at the UK border has details that match the holder of a British passport.

Good grief I had no idea! Is this new? I've only ever sent off my current UK passport, never the Aussie one, or even a copy of it! But I would only ever enter the UK on my UK passport, can't see why anyone would want to be subject to restrictions.

 

[Flashback]

Having just done the trip to the UK, just stick to your AU passport. There is no benefit of using the UK one as E-gates in the UK accept an AU passport. It just adds another layer for complexity and risk to the trip. Print everything out including the receipt for the UK Day 2 tests, lost count of how many times I had to provide these.

You must be rather unlucky then! I've arrived into the UK 6 or 7 times in the past few months and never once have I been asked to show anything. AU passport also.

 

[clifford]

First, because you're supposed to declare it when applying for or renewing a UK passport, and submit colour copies of all pages of any uncancelled non-British passport you may hold.

I won't be doing that. UKBF is hopeless.

 

[Pushka]

Story on Adelaide ABC tonight. Returning international travellers were all whisked from the airport straight into med hotels, despite being pre approved for home quarantine. One of those impacted was Julia Gillard. She was allowed out.

One of those pre approved for home quarantine had logged in with the app and was contacted by SA Health because his approved address was not the address they could see on the app. How bloody pathetic.

 

[PineappleSkip]

$%#@ shambles.

He said the most official communication he had received since arriving at the hotel was from his home quarantine app, which he had initiated in anticipation of being at home.

"They rang me to ask why I wasn't at the location I had provided and I explained that I was in hotel quarantine, which was a surprise to them," he said.

"I just got another text from them asking them why I had missed my test date today and that was because I have done one here in hotel quarantine and I'm not able to go to a test centre and upload those results."

Cheers skip

 

[Happy Trails]

Good grief I had no idea! Is this new? I've only ever sent off my current UK passport, never the Aussie one, or even a copy of it! But I would only ever enter the UK on my UK passport, can't see why anyone would want to be subject to restrictions.

There was some discussion of it back in 2014.

UK Passport Renewal for Dual / Multi Citizens

Has anyone with dual / multi citizenship renewed a UK passport recently? They now instruct you to send them all of your non-cancelled passports, "British or otherwise". There's no way I'm sending them my other passports for God knows how long and I'm thinking of simply ignoring this...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[jakeseven7]

You must be rather unlucky then! I've arrived into the UK 6 or 7 times in the past few months and never once have I been asked to show anything. AU passport also.

I didn’t even know they checked anything in the UK

 

[Flashback]

I didn’t even know they checked anything in the UK

Two things the pommies like, queues and checking documents

 

[Telemachus]

Actually it's 2 calendar days, not 48 hours.

[Withdrawn] Travel to England from another country – COVID-19 rules

Check if there are any COVID-19 rules in place for travel to England from abroad.

www.gov.uk

From 4am 7 December, you can take the test any time in the 2 days before the service on which you will arrive in England departs.

The SI (The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Operator Liability) (England) (Amendment) (No. 23) Regulations 2021) was published a few hours ago.

The PDF of the England amendment (different docs for Scotland & Wales) is a thicket of cross-references and you need to have the principal regs also to refer to in order to make full sense of it. There is an associated EM which is slightly easier to grasp without ploughing through both the principal regs and amendment.

Key points in context of travel from Australia and the time window available for taking the test:

• Qualifying test must be taken no more than 2 days before departure for England.
• If there are no transit stops the clock starts 2 days before ‘the service’s scheduled time of departure’.
• If the journey ‘involves the person transiting through a country or territory, the scheduled time of departure of the first part of the service’.
• ‘A person transits through a country or territory if they arrive in that country or territory for the sole purpose of continuing a journey to England’.

The Gov.UK guidance still says: ‘where possible you should get a test within 3 days of your final departure point to England’. Now I think it’s clear this should be amended not only from 3 to 2 days but also to remove the uncertainty created by implying there could be a problem taking a test prior to 2 days before the departure of the final leg of a journey with one or more transits.

 

[Flashback]

As a good data point, I just filled in the PLF for a flight going to the UK tomorrow and nowhere did it mention the tests required, it still very much referred to the old rules. Left hand, meet right hand!

 

[Pushka]

The SI (The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Operator Liability) (England) (Amendment) (No. 23) Regulations 2021) was published a few hours ago.

The PDF of the England amendment (different docs for Scotland & Wales) is a thicket of cross-references and you need to have the principal regs also to refer to in order to make full sense of it. There is an associated EM which is slightly easier to grasp without ploughing through both the principal regs and amendment.

Key points in context of travel from Australia and the time window available for taking the test:

• Qualifying test must be taken no more than 2 days before departure for England.
• If there are no transit stops the clock starts 2 days before ‘the service’s scheduled time of departure’.
• If the journey ‘involves the person transiting through a country or territory, the scheduled time of departure of the first part of the service’.
• ‘A person transits through a country or territory if they arrive in that country or territory for the sole purpose of continuing a journey to England’.

The Gov.UK guidance still says: ‘where possible you should get a test within 3 days of your final departure point to England’. Now I think it’s clear this should be amended not only from 3 to 2 days but also to remove the uncertainty created by implying there could be a problem taking a test prior to 2 days before the departure of the final leg of a journey with one or more transits.

That's more helpful for Aussies then.

 

[Telemachus]

That's more helpful for Aussies then.

Yes, a pleasant surprise. Taking the example of @Pom-DownUnder (see recent posts in this thread): for an itinerary CBR-MEL-DXB-MAN dep CBR tomorrow 8 Dec, the test required by the UK could be taken any time on 6, 7 or 8 Dec (the ‘within 2 days’ formula is more generous than specifying 48 hrs).

 

[Pushka]

Yes, a pleasant surprise. Taking the example of @Pom-DownUnder (see recent posts in this thread): for an itinerary CBR-MEL-DXB-MAN dep CBR tomorrow 8 Dec, the test required by the UK could be taken any time on 6, 7 or 8 Dec (the ‘within 2 days’ formula is more generous than specifying 48 hrs).

It's also allowing for the flight out of Australia which can be up to 18 hours prior to last flight into UK even on a 'quick' flight. .I suspect Aussies won't even rate a flicker though.

 

[andye]

The transit definition looks like it's saved us another test at airport
Had PCR Monday
Fly SYD-MEL-DOH-HEL on Wed/Thu
Separate ticket HEL-LHR on Thu
If I'm wrong please let me know

 

[jrfsp]

Any thoughts on whether the "Banned / red" list will grow? The latest cases in NSW have been linked back to travel from Nigeria, which isnt on the banned list. (It is on the UKs red list).

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Any thoughts on whether the "Banned / red" list will grow? The latest cases in NSW have been linked back to travel from Nigeria, which isnt on the banned list. (It is on the UKs red list).

My guess is it will expand even though logically it will be more like to come from Europe.

 

[Lynda2475]

Given we aren't seeing any hospitalizations form Omicron, we should actually be seeing the bans lifted for Africa not expanded.

Delta remains the driver for serious health consequences.

 

[Amanad78]

Following on from the discussion about dual nationals I asked Histopath about which passport I should use and they are able to issue a certificate for each passport.

 

[justinbrett]

Any thoughts on whether the "Banned / red" list will grow? The latest cases in NSW have been linked back to travel from Nigeria, which isnt on the banned list. (It is on the UKs red list).

There is heaps of countries on the Reconsider / Do Not Lists. Far too many IMO.

Eg Mexico - who have far fewer cases per capita than Australia.