Visas return for Colombians entering the United Kingdom: Roy Barreras confirmed the news

The Colombian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Roy Barreras Montealegre, announced on the morning of this Tuesday, November 26, that the mandatory visa is returning for all Colombians who wish to enter this island nation. The above, Barreras explained to El Tiempo, is due to the increase in false asylum applications that some people are requesting.

“A minority of compatriots, as we have warned for months, abused the ease of traveling without a visa and has harmed the majority with the irregular practice of requesting false asylums, with false documentation that has triggered thousands of requests for these asylums. “said the diplomat to the aforementioned media.

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According to the ambassador, those Colombians who have purchased tickets to this country until December 24 will enter the transition stage, so they will be the last nationals who will be able to travel without this document. From that date, Barreras states, families from Colombia who wish to travel to this part of the world will have to complete the respective procedure, which had been eliminated since October 2022.

However, the British Embassy in Colombia assured that the only Colombians who will be able to enter the United Kingdom without a visa before December 24 at 3 in the afternoon will be those who have purchased their tickets prior to this Tuesday, November 26 at 10: 00 in the morning:

“The measure comes into force today. But those Colombians who had booked their trip to the United Kingdom before this announcement (that is, before 10:00 am on November 26, 2024) can travel without needing to apply for a visa as a visitor as long as your entry into the United Kingdom is before 3:00 pm (British time) on December 24, 2024,” explains the press release.

📣Communication: starting today the visitor visa requirement for Colombians traveling or transiting through the United Kingdom is reestablished 🇬🇧

All information can be found at: https://t.co/JReRWK9Kj8
pic.twitter.com/7sxBkUBsiP

— British Embassy in Colombia (@UKinColombia) November 26, 2024

According to the interview that the ambassador had with the newspaper, Colombia was part of the list of a dozen countries that have had this requirement reimposed to travel to this part of the world, which also includes Jordan, El Salvador or Honduras.

For his part, Barreras assured that, from the National Government, the necessary efforts will be carried out to once again achieve the desired visa exemption, thus deploying campaigns that contribute to this work in the main air terminals of the country, such as the International Airport. The Golden.

It is expected that at 10 am (Colombian time), the authorities of the European country will make an official announcement with the changes and conditions that Colombians will have to assume to travel to that part of the world.

Why the visa returned for those Colombians who wish to travel to the United Kingdom

As Barreras announced, the main reason for this reimposition is attributed to the considerable increase in false asylum applications, which, the ambassador affirms, have even been promoted by pirate travel agencies:

“They are accumulating near 2,000 asylum applicationsmost of them generated with false causes, even by pirate travel agencies that, we will insist before the Prosecutor’s Office, so that they are dismantled,” added the interviewee to the national newspaper.

Despite what was stated by the Colombian diplomat, so far no official statement has been published by the United Kingdom Embassy in Colombia.

What Petro and the UK minister spoke about visas during the G20

Although the subject was not talked about much, it was likely that President Gustavo Petro already anticipated this decision, since, during a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), The Colombian president requested that the visa requirement to travel to the United Kingdom not be reinstated.

The above takes into account that the United Kingdom is reviewing its immigration policy due to the increase in asylum applications by Colombian citizens since the visa requirement for trips of less than 6 months was withdrawn.

Contrary to this, Petro had invited the prime minister to strengthen bilateral ties through an increase in the exchange of travelers, students and cultural activities.