EU citizens are being denied entry to the UK – what are the visa rules for visitors?

Following some reports in the news - useful article for new visitors to the UK (not applicable to citizens having (pre-)Settled Status or travelling on Family Permits:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/eu-citi ... visa-rules

alterhase58 wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 12:48 pm

Following some reports in the news - useful article for new visitors to the UK (not applicable to citizens having (pre-)Settled Status or travelling on Family Permits:
https://www.freemovement.org.uk/eu-citi ... visa-rules

I read some articles about that and apparently, the EU nationals who were detained stated on arrival that they were planning to work, study, or engage in other activities not allowed as a visitor. Still pretty harsh to detain them for days instead of just sending them back on the next flight.

Apparently there were some cases of EU nationals with settled status being turned away at the border. The online status must not be as accessible to border force staff than was stated earlier.

ALKB wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 3:21 pm

Apparently there were some cases of EU nationals with settled status being turned away at the border. The online status must not be as accessible to border force staff than was stated earlier.

From what is described, this happened to people who didn't use the passport they were travelling with, to apply for their status. In other words, the document they produced at the border was not linked to their status. Not surprising the border officer could not check.

kamoe wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 7:29 pm

ALKB wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 3:21 pm

Apparently there were some cases of EU nationals with settled status being turned away at the border. The online status must not be as accessible to border force staff than was stated earlier.

From what is described, this happened to people who didn't use the passport they were travelling with, to apply for their status. In other words, the document they produced at the border was not linked to their status. Not surprising the border officer could not check.

That makes sense. A detail one has to be aware of where there are multiple possibilities - national ID card (can those generally still be used to enter the UK or is an actual passport needed?), passport, or, in case of Germany for instance, a second passport (allowed for frequent travellers who often have one passport at an Embassy for visa applications).

Guidance from gov.uk relating to EU ID card usage:

You will not be able to use an EU, EEA or Swiss national ID card to enter the UK from 1 October 2021 unless you:

• have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
  applied to the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021 but have not received a decision yet
  have an EU Settlement Scheme family permit
  have a frontier worker permit
  are an S2 Healthcare Visitor
  are a Swiss national and have a Service Provider from Switzerland visa
  In these cases, you can continue to use your national ID card to enter the UK until at least 31 December 2025.

British citizens can continue to use a Gibraltar identity card to travel to the UK.
Irish citizens can continue to use a passport card to travel to the UK.
You must have the correct documents to show at the UK border if you’re travelling to the UK. You cannot use any documents to enter the UK that are not listed here.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visiting-th ... ter-the-uk