I am asking this on behalf of my newly graduated college kid, who is planning on doing a work-away program in Scotland for 2 months in early 2021. She would like to fly into Heathrow (from the US), and take a train to Edinburgh, where she is going to quarantine for the requisite 14 days in an airbnb. Is this allowed? It is cheaper to fly to Heathrow than EDI.
Thanks!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34011 posts
She would like to fly into Heathrow (from the US), and take a train to Edinburgh,
that is not allowed.
The law is that is if you enter the UK from a non-exempt country you need to self isolate (food sent in, no going out, etc.,) for 14 days, and you can only use public transport (trains, buses, etc.) if no other alternative is available.
Clearly there are at least 2 legal alternatives available - self drive car rental (car hire), and taxi.
That is today. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Could be better, more likely worse.
Edinburgh and all of the central belt of Scotland are under lockdown which is stricter than Tier 3 in England.
The entire northwest and northeast of England is under either Tier 3 lockdown or Tier 2 at the moment. In order to travel from Heathrow to Edinburgh she will have to travel through one or both of those areas.
Has she got paperwork to allow her to enter Scotland?
She might find it easier to fly into Edinburgh from home. Less exposure for her and the people around her.
She may find it less expensive overall as well....
Posted by
OP
Nashville TN
36 posts
This is all very helpful, thank you. I will encourage her to go straight to Edinburgh - both for the legality of the situation, and you are right - it will probably end up being cheaper in the long run.
I believe that if you intend to stay for longer than 6 months, a work visa is required.
Posted by
Queens, NYC
572 posts
I'm somewhat interested what this means, "All Workawayers must obtain
the relevant visa (working, volunteering or otherwise) for the country
they are travelling to." Does volunteering require a visa normally?
Volunteering isn't always treated as an activity that any tourist can do. As a notable example for the purposes of this thread, the UK does not normally permit visitors to volunteer for more than 30 days, and volunteering also can't be the main purpose of the visit. (So I hope the OP's daughter has this straightened out immigration/visa-wise.)
From the Immigration Rules Visitors Appendix 3 (Permitted Activities for All Visitors):
Volunteering
A visitor may undertake incidental volunteering (i.e. the main purpose of the visit is not to volunteer), provided it lasts no more than 30 days in total and is for a charity that is registered with either the Charity Commission for England and Wales; the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland; or the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
Posted by
Ashburn VA
834 posts
Isn't her work-away program keeping her informed of travel/quarantine, visa and other requirements? Of course, the traveler should always take the final responsibility for him/herself, but I think it would be great if her sponsoring organization could help out a bit, too.
Posted by
755 posts
Hi Kristine, I showed Workaway to a friend’s daughter, and she was wondering what kind of volunteer work your daughter will be doing in exchange for living with a family? Helping the host family like a work exchange, or working at a volunteer charity?