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COVID-19: UK offers visa waiver for Indonesian relatives of British citizens
“Visa waivers are available for any Indonesian who is the husband, wife or child of a British national who is still in Indonesia and wish to travel back together to the UK,” the British Embassy in Jakarta said.
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A National Health Service (NHS) worker arrives at a drive-in facility to test for the novel coronavirus, set up in the parking lot of Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington, Greater London, on March 28. The United Kingdom announced on March 24 that it would open a 4,000-bed field hospital at a London exhibition center to treat coronavirus cases in the latest measure to tackle the outbreak after the government ordered a nationwide lockdown. (AFP/Glyn KIRK)
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s countries around the world move to impose travel restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, the United Kingdom – despite being one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe – has offered visa waivers for Indonesian relatives of British citizens.
“British nationals can always enter the UK, it’s home. The UK is still open to anyone with a valid visa or status, including of course Indonesians – any Indonesian with a valid visa or settled status in the UK,” the British Embassy in Jakarta wrote on its official Facebook page on Sunday.
However, the embassy said that new visa applications would not be processed, with the exception of immediate family members of British citizens.
“Visa waivers are available for any Indonesian who is the husband, wife or child of a British national who is still in Indonesia and wishes to travel back together to the UK,” the embassy said.
The individuals still need to meet the criteria for a Standard Visitor Visa for family visitors, which are detailed at https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa.
If they meet all the criteria, individuals seeking a visa waiver should contact the embassy directly or via its Facebook account and detail their situation if they plan to fly back as a family, as visa waivers are considered on compassionate grounds on a case-by-case basis.
“The same immigration rules for a standard visitor visa upon entering the UK still apply, just as those who already hold the same type of visa in the UK,” the embassy said.
As of Monday morning, real time data from the Johns Hopkins University showed that the UK had recorded 19,784 cases of COVID-19, resulting in 1,228 deaths.
Several prominent figures in the country have been infected with the virus, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson became the first leader of a major power to announce a positive test result for coronavirus on Friday. He is self-isolating in Downing Street but is still leading the UK’s response to the crisis, Reuters reported.
The UK is bracing for the epidemic to peak in the coming weeks, and is building field hospitals in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff to bolster its state-run National Health Service (NHS), the news agency wrote.
