Since Brexit, the exit from the European Union from the UK, it was very annoying to enter the main island from Great Britain. During the Covid pandemic, there were strong entry rules, which whole Europe didn’t have, but to this later more. How was I entering the UK?
This is a little storytelling from this event and it should be still possible now.
Where is the United Kingdom located?
The United Kingdom is divided into four parts, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is located off the western coast of Europe, right in the Atlantic Ocean. It has just one neighbor, which is Ireland. Ireland is bordering Northern Ireland and this part is getting interesting in the next topic.
Other borders, because of British oversea territory would be the border to Spain in Gibraltar and the border to Zyprus, because of an oversea territory there as well.
Besides that there would be maritime borders, when counting it (I personally don’t), those would be to France, Germany, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain and Iceland.
Why even go to the UK illegally?
To make it short, it was to save money! I as a German citizen would not have issues, to travel in the country, would have a legal stay right for a while, without needing to pay.
When I traveled in summer of 2021, traveling in Europe with the vaccine was almost back to normal. No test needed, just the certificate of the vaccine.
I was in Spain at the time and for traveling to the UK directly, a CPR Test was necessary and also when arriving, another was needed. The tests themselves were many times higher than the actual plane ticket, which was at less than 20 Euro.
For me I found it not good that they were the only European country doing it, so it was time to find a way around this.
What was the plan?
The plan was actually quite simple, flying to Dublin in Ireland. From Ireland taking the bus to Northern Ireland. That would bring me to the UK already.
From Northern Ireland I would take a ferry to Scotland and a bus from there to Edinburgh, the city I was trying to get to.
The plan would be around three times cheaper, then flying direct, with paying for all the tests.
Why does it work this way?
The answer to this question is really simple, there is no border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Due to Brexit it would have happened, but you can’t make an actual border between these regions. Nobody knows what could be the after effect there.
Back then big fighting was happening there, so nobody wanted that again, so it was left open, without any controls. Like this you are just able to enter the UK, without any issues and controls.
The only thing I was concerned about was making it to the main island, to make it to Scotland, but to this in the next section more.
How did it go?
After arriving in Dublin, it was quite well, just really cold and I had only clothes for Spain with me, due to my 10L backpack. There were some entry controls in Ireland but still worked out fine, without problems. Still many people had big issues getting through it, probably non EU citizens.
The bus arrived a short while after, right to the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast. The bus to the ferry was arriving the morning after, I was hoping to sleep the night in the terminal for the bus, but to my luck it was closed.
It was to be honest a shitty night, really hard finding a shelter, due to the cold. I even tried to book a hostel, but even they were fully booked. I ended up sleeping in a waiting place, to catch a taxi, where it was cold, but warmer than outside.
The long night was finally over. I went really frozen to the open terminal, where luckily the bus was coming not long after.
Making it to the terminal for the ferry, this is where I got nervous, because they were doing passport control, but also there they just let me go, which was super good for me.
After making it to the main island everything was fine and also when wanting to fly out of the country, there was no issue, nobody asked me.
What would have happened when they would have caught me?
It was a payment over several hundreds of pounds, but I just wanted to risk it, to save around 100, because the bus was not expensive.
I had a good feeling about it, otherwise there would be no way for me to do it. My friend in Edinburgh came up with the idea, because of the open border at the Irish island.
Is it something to recommend?
In general it is not good to recommend something illegal, so I will not do it. When getting caught, you can get into big trouble, because also entering a country like this is illegal.
Just because it worked for me, doesn’t mean it will work now in general or for you at all. There are just many ways to enter a country and even for an island, there are different ways.
Now they also were changing the laws when talking about covid, so a flight into the country would be now way cheaper again.
What would I do differently next time?
When I would be in the same situation, trying to enter the UK illegally, I would do some more research, if anyone made it, to see if it’s even possible. Just playing dump, will in countries like this most likely not help you that much.
Another thing is that it would be important, to check the weather, to try getting something a bit more warm. Also check beforehand on Couchsurfing a host, to have a shelter for the night.
Otherwise the plan was quite well planned and also my passport was probably helping me. I would still probably not be going to do it again in the UK like this, I would now just wait, until entering policies would be easier.
Summary
While traveling in summer 2021, I wanted to go to Scotland, but was not willing to pay for the tests. The plan, by getting legal transportation illegal in the country, was a bit risky, but worked out at the end.
Of course it is nothing to recommend, but this is all about different travel stories, to understand that there are always ways to end up saving some money. Doing illegal things is of course not the best thing to do, but with some research it is doable.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
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