3rd Party Meetup Destinations for US and UK Couple?

[GoingTheDistance2 7]

Hi all —

 

I’m an American in the US and my girlfriend is a dual UK/German citizen living in London.  We were fortunate enough to be seeing each other ~once/month, but COVID has put a wrench in that and it’s now been several months.

 

My girlfriend currently can’t come to the US, and while I can go to the UK, I’d need to quarantine for 14 days (likely the full length of my trip, or close to it), so we’re looking for other options.

 

Have other US + UK (or EU) couples had any success meeting up elsewhere recently (i.e., no mandatory quarantine, no travel ban, etc.)?  It looks like there are a few options in the Caribbean (e.g. Antigua, Bermuda, etc.), but we’re coming up on hurricane season there and it looks tough (but possible) to fly there from the UK.  We’re also looking into Turkey.

 

One small note: I have mobility issues given some health challenges, so ideally we’d have a place where we can easily rent a car / get around without much walking.  Would prefer to minimise rideshare (e.g., Uber) with everything going on.

 

I fully recognize there’s unlikely to be a perfect answer here given everything that’s going on, and that we’re extremely fortunate to have the means to travel to meet each other — just wanted to see if we’re missing any other options.

 

Apologies if I’ve posted this in the wrong place - feel free to redirect.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[JFH 12,190]

You can self-quarantine at her address for the entire duration of your stay or 14 days, whichever is shorter. It means you can’t go out to restaurants etc but there’s not much of that going on in the UK for anyone right now anyway. 

 

Other than that, just wait it out. It won’t be going on that much longer. Most of us went through or are going through longer periods of separation than that and we all lived to tell the tale. It’s frustrating but it’s temporary. 

[HRQX 4,145]

56 minutes ago, GoingTheDistance2 said:

Have other US + UK (or EU) couples had any success meeting up elsewhere recently (i.e., no mandatory quarantine, no travel ban, etc.)?

Serbia is an option:

 

1 hour ago, GoingTheDistance2 said:

My girlfriend currently can’t come to the US

Is there a specific reason?

[JFH 12,190]

14 minutes ago, HRQX said:

 

Is there a specific reason?

Currently people who have been in the UK for the past 14 days cannot enter the US unless they are spouses or minor children of USCs or parent of a minor USC.

Edited June 28, 2020 by JFH

[JFH 12,190]

The trouble with making plans for another destination is that rules can change without notice. Borders can be closed overnight, countries that previously accepted arrivals from x country may suddenly block them. The UK citizen would still need to quarantine when returning to the UK from Serbia, fine if she works from home, not fine if she has to go out of the house to work. 

[HRQX 4,145]

11 minutes ago, JFH said:

Currently people who have been in the UK for the past 14 days cannot enter the US unless they are spouses or minor children of USCs or parent of a minor USC.

I know that. I was assuming @GoingTheDistance2 already knew that after spending 14 days in unrestricted country (i.e. Serbia, Turkey, Mexico, etc.) she can travel to US POE with ESTA or a B-2.

Edited June 28, 2020 by HRQX

[Pat S. 5]

Hi everyone! I'm spanish citizen and my boyfriend is US citizen. We're meeting next saturday in Mexico and we'll spend 7 days in Cancún. After that, I will come back to Spain and he will be back to US...at least we will be together a few days...it's been a long and hard time without our loved ones...

[Sego 31]

7 hours ago, Pat S. said:

Hi everyone! I'm spanish citizen and my boyfriend is US citizen. We're meeting next saturday in Mexico and we'll spend 7 days in Cancún. After that, I will come back to Spain and he will be back to US...at least we will be together a few days...it's been a long and hard time without our loved ones...

My fiancé (us citizen) and I (French) are planning to do the same and meet up next week in Mexico to at least see each other while all of this gets cleared out 

[ohcoffeeeyes 120]

20 hours ago, JFH said:

You can self-quarantine at her address for the entire duration of your stay or 14 days, whichever is shorter. It means you can’t go out to restaurants etc but there’s not much of that going on in the UK for anyone right now anyway. 

 

Other than that, just wait it out. It won’t be going on that much longer. Most of us went through or are going through longer periods of separation than that and we all lived to tell the tale. It’s frustrating but it’s temporary. 

Honestly the government doesnt even enforce it. That's what I've read.

[GoingTheDistance2 7]

Thank you all for the helpful replies!

 

After some discussion, we’ve decided that our best option will be for me to fly to the UK and self-isolate with my girlfriend in an Airbnb for 14 days.  While that will be the majority of the trip, there are some great rural options where we can spend some time outside (at the Airbnb property, not elsewhere) without being near others.

 

This minimizes collective travel (and risk of infection while traveling) vs. meeting up in a 3rd party destination, and we are OK with 14 days of self-isolation and will be able to work remotely for at least part of the time.

 

Of course, welcome any other thoughts/ideas.

 

[Maryy_ 6]

Can you keep us up to date how your travel to the UK goes? Thinking of doing the same if other travel bans aren't lifted soon.

[NanRob 9]

I'm in a similar situation as I am a US citizen and I am planning to visit my fiance in Northern Ireland. What's worrying me though is can it be deemed essential? 

[GoingTheDistance2 7]

Hi all —

 

Just wanted to share that I ended up making the trip over to the UK without issues — arrived on August 1st and am staying in an AirBnB with my fiancée (proposed when I arrived!) until going back to the US on August 16th.

 

I filled out the government form ahead of departure from the US, and just answered a few basic questions upon arrival at Heathrow about where I was staying, how I’d get food without leaving the AirBnB, etc.  I was let through with no problem.

 

Next step for us is figuring out where we can get married to start a CR-1 process...

 

Good luck to everyone else trying to make a similar trip.

 

 

[HRQX 4,145]

3 hours ago, GoingTheDistance2 said:

Next step for us is figuring out where we can get married to start a CR-1 process...

Is there a specific reason you have to return to US on Aug. 16? If not, then you two can take a trip to Gibraltar to get married. It's a very straightforward process there; the requirement is to stay at least 1 night there before the wedding day:

http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/getting-married

https://sarahlaviajera.com/2019/10/22/how-to-get-married-in-gibraltar-as-an-american-2019/

https://www.sweetgibraltarweddings.com/get-married-in-gibraltar/

[GoingTheDistance2 7]

23 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Is there a specific reason you have to return to US on Aug. 16? If not, then you two can take a trip to Gibraltar to get married. It's a very straightforward process there; the requirement is to stay at least 1 night there before the wedding day:

http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/getting-married

https://sarahlaviajera.com/2019/10/22/how-to-get-married-in-gibraltar-as-an-american-2019/

https://www.sweetgibraltarweddings.com/get-married-in-gibraltar/

 

Wow - had no idea this is an option.  

 

I think this probably won’t be feasible this trip (don’t have my birth certificate with me and need to be back in the US for medical reasons), but going to look into it a bit more and at minimum looks like a great option for us via another trip.

 

Appreciate the tip!