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Tag: Covid-19

  • Don’t Pay for a Passenger Locator Form // Covid-19

    Don’t Pay for a Passenger Locator Form // Covid-19

    Don’t Pay for a Passenger Locator Form

    23/09/21

    Since earlier in 2021, it has become a legal requirement for everyone going into Ireland to fill in a Passenger Locator Form. The same applies to many countries. But, you do not need to pay for these.

    When you book travel, you will be asked / advised to ensure you have all the correct documentation for your trip by your carrier. When you’re going into Ireland, depending on your circumstances, that means proof of vaccinations, proof of a negative RT-PCR test and your Passenger Locator Form. You can always find a list of everything you will need on the Irish government website, gov.ie

    You’ll also need your travel documents, i.e. passport, driving licence or ID. You can find out all you need about travel documents in this blog post ‘Travelling between the UK and Ireland // What Travel Documents do I need?’

    Screenshot of Irish Passenger Locator Form from travel.eplf.gov.ie

    Dubious Passenger Locator Form Websites

    A Passenger Locator Form is a document that is required to be completed by the traveller into a country. This normally includes, your name and contact details, address you’re staying at, how and when you came into the country and the duration of your stay. At time of writing, it is a legal requirement to complete a Passenger Locator Form when entering Ireland from abroad.

    You do not need to pay to complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF). These forms are free and are available from the websites of the countries governments who require them. There is no charge for them and there is definitely no charge for filling in an Irish Passenger Locator Form, which can be found here on travel.eplf.gov.ie

    However, as with everything in life, there is always someone somewhere who thinks they can make a quick buck. Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic, this is rife. There are a number of websites which have set up with the intention of making the unsuspecting traveller pay a fee for the privilege of filling in a passenger locator form. Please do not do this, it only encourages these people. There’s no need to pay someone for this.

    Don’t Pay Someone Else To Fill In A Passenger Locator Form

    Only use official government forms. If these people are going to fill in a PLF for you, you need to give them all the information. You need to give them this information on their website. They will then copy and paste your information into the Irish government Passenger Locator Form and you’ll be quids down. You

    Some of these websites charge between 27-35 £/Euro. Each traveller over 18 must fill in their own individual form. So, for a couple that’s an extra 50/70 quid for the pleasure of filling in a form. Remember, the details you just gave them are the same details you could have filled in yourself on the real form!

    Would You Give A Stranger Your Passport and Bank Details?

    Also, and here’s the concerning bit for me. These companies have been set up to ‘provide a service’. If people are unfamiliar with the internet or are unsure of exactly what they are looking for, they become easy prey for these companies. I’m not saying that they are scammers, it seems that they do actually fill in the form. But, as well as having all your details, name, address, date of birth, passport number etc., they also now have your bank details, which for me is a major issue. Just think of the potential for data protection breaches.

    The bottom line is you don’t have to pay to get yourself a Passenger Locator Form. You can fill it in yourself. The Irish one can be found here. If you fill in a form on a website where you pay to get a PLF, you don’t know what they do with your data. Bottom line, they now know everything about you and have your bank details.

    Do your research. Only use a form from an official government website. You don’t want your holiday turning into a nightmare!

    If you’re Irish or going to Ireland and have any doubts about what you should do, always contact your local Embassy or Consulate for advice.

    Photos from Pixabay.

  • Seven Years in London, How Did That Happen?

    Seven Years in London, How Did That Happen?

    Seven Years in London, How Did That Happen?

    September 1 2013. I didn’t really sleep. I dozed off a few times but just for twenty minutes here and there. I woke up again as the coach thundered through Finchley, passed the famous Baker Street, before reaching Victoria Coach Station.

    I took the Coach and Sail. It cost 50 euro. I arrived in London Victoria from Dublin before 8am on a Sunday morning. So early that some of the tube stations weren’t open yet. I had one large suitcase, along with my laptop, microphone and cables, my audio recorder and my mixing desk. Just the essentials. I had booked some temporary accommodation in Walthamstow and was to start a new job the following day.

    Moving to London wasn’t an easy decision. We had lived here from 2001-2002 and I hated it. After finishing my degree in Dublin City University in 2012, I managed to get two interviews, both for part time work. Ireland wasn’t a particularly fun place after the recession. Staying in Ireland was becoming a lot more difficult for us, with one proper wage coming in. We had to take a chance.

    It wasn’t an easy move. I had applied for a job and got it. Tahlula was still working in Ireland. We would be apart for two months. We sneaked in weekends but it’s not the same. New city, going ‘home’ to temporary accommodation, not knowing too many people. Thank Alanis for the internet!

    Peoples March in London October 2018

    By early 2014, we had settled more into life in London and had moved into a proper apartment. I hated the trains then, I hated the trains now. Since then, we’ve gone home to vote for Marriage Equality. We’ve been here through the Brexit campaign and the ridiculousness of the UK voting itself out of the EU. We been through a redundancy and the urgency of needing a job in London. We’ve avoided far right rallies in Central London on a Saturday, we’ve wandered into Remain marches when a million people turned up. And we’ve been here through this Covid-19 pandemic.

    People will say London is only an hour from home. While it’s realistically a little bit further, right now it could be ten hours away. We’re both lucky enough to know that our parents and families are safe in Ireland and that we’re safe here. It just happens that this is the longest we’ve been away without going home. Going home to visit isn’t an option right now. It makes the approximate 500 kilometres seem like 5000.

    There are so many familiars between here and Ireland. The telly is the same. You can get RTE on the internet. The food is the same. There are Irish shops around and I’ve even recently been able to get my beloved Lyons Gold Blend Tea Bags delivered. There are so many Irish accents around. But, the post boxes are red, not green. While you might know other people living in London, the city of eight million is so big, you’ll never bump into them. Depending on where you live, you might see them twice a year.

    The hardest part is trying to balance keeping in touch with what’s happening in London, with your life in London. It’s very easy to get lost in the comfortable surroundings of online life in Ireland. Social media makes it extremely easy to stay on top of what’s happening at home but you can’t always look back. You have to live in the now.

    A London Underground train in an empty station

    I don’t have that ‘London is home’ feeling about the place. In what was the old normal, there were always lots of places to see, things to do, gigs to go to. It’s great that, if you want, there are all these things on your doorstep. But London is an expensive city. Going outside the door always seems to cost twenty quid. Living in South East London means more greenery, cheaper rent and a bigger apartment. It also means watching for the last train to ensure you don’t end up on a dreaded night bus. But with saving £500 a month in rent, it’s something I’m more than happy to put up with.

    I’ve never liked commuting, I think it’s a waste of life. The stress of squeezing onto a train. No! Just, no! What the world has taught me in the past six months is that we need to enjoy our time, lead a more sustainable life. We genuinely think of ourselves and our lives more than we do of our jobs and taking part in a rat race. I think for me, there are too many people in London.

    In 2016, I wrote that I didn’t know how long I would be in London for. I still don’t know but it’s not where I want to be forever. I could write a list of plans and dreams but I’ve learned that life isn’t like that. The pandemic obviously has changed time frames on everyone’s lives for now. I still have plans and aims, long term though, I’m not really sure if London will fit in.