My boyfriend was detained at Heathrow as he didn't have the right visa. He has a flight booked but has to spend an overnight stay in Amsterdam. Could he leave the airport for the evening if I book him a hotel or can he stay in the airport for 24hours in the current situation?
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He will not be allowed to enter the Netherlands either, so a hotel is not an option. I am not able to find out if it currently is possible to stay overnight an Schiphol, but I would not count on it in the current situation.– Tor-Einar JarnbjoCommented Jul 11, 2020 at 15:53
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@Tor-EinarJarnbjo Are you sure? No entry restrictions apply if arriving from the UK, but the grey area is the fact that he was never let into the UK– CrazydreCommented Jul 11, 2020 at 15:54
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@Kate What entry visa did he have for the UK? Where did he arrive from/via?– TravellerCommented Jul 11, 2020 at 16:14
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@Crazydre Pretty sure, Since he has not actually stayed in the UK, I would very much assume that he counts as coming from Argentina and is therefore banned from entry for non-essential travel. Otherwise, anyone could just transit any of the 'allowed' countries to circumvent the entry restrictions.– Tor-Einar JarnbjoCommented Jul 11, 2020 at 16:20
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2@Crazydre Here, it is explained in more detail, that residents of the white-listed countries are allowed to enter. I realize that this contradicts the wording 'arriving from' as used in Timatic. netherlandsandyou.nl/travel-and-residence/…– Tor-Einar JarnbjoCommented Jul 11, 2020 at 16:28
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2 Answers
Per TIMATIC, the database used by airlines:
Passengers are not allowed to enter.
This does not apply to passengers arriving from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland (Rep.), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.
Unclear, however, if being sent back from the UK qualifies as arriving from the UK.
I'd recommend you to email Dutch border control on this, at [email protected]. Write "Urgent!" in the message title
answered Jul 11, 2020 at 15:53
The title implies (but doesn't state directly) that the boyfriend flew from Argentina to the UK. Arriving in the UK, he was denied entry.
Because he's now detained, UK Border Force will want the boyfriend to depart for Argentina, where UKBF is confident he'll be admitted. Because the boyfriend was found not admissible to the UK, UKBF will not release him to spend the night in the UK or in the airport. On these facts, UKBF will similarly not release him to fly to an uncertain acceptance in the Netherlands.
If the Dutch authorities, however, assure UKBF that the boyfriend will be allowed entry into the Netherlands, and the boyfriend can secure a ticket from the UK to the Netherlands on short notice, then UKBR might allow him to fly to the Netherlands.
I agree with Crazydre's recommendation: all you can do at this point is to request the Dutch immigration authorities to transmit such assurance to UKBF. You could also ask UKBF to make the same inquiry of the Dutch.
Detention facilities within airport terminals are small and limited. If UKFB can't quickly find another country to receive the traveler, they'll likely move him to a UK immigration detention center in no more than a day or two.
answered Jul 11, 2020 at 16:44
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It seems like the flight is already booked and he is flying to Netherlands. And seems the question is whether he can enter Netherlands whilst transiting. Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 18:00
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@kiradotee The OP writes "He has a flight booked, but has to spend an overnight stay in Amsterdam." To me, that means he has a flight booked from Amsterdam on the next day. If the flight were to Amsterdam, staying another night in Amsterdam wouldn't matter vis-a-vis this refusal of entry into the UK. The OP hasn't returned to clarify any of these issues. Commented Jul 13, 2020 at 20:43