UK refusing EU citizens entry at much higher rate despite COVID

In the first three months of this year, even as the pandemic reduced overall travel, the UK blocked 3,294 people compared with 493 a year earlier.

The United Kingdom has denied entry to European Union citizens at a much higher rate this year, despite fewer journeys being made overall as the coronavirus pandemic took effect. Government data from the Home Office on Thursday showed UK border officials blocked 3,294 EU citizens from entering the country from the beginning of January until the end of March – a figure nearly 570 percent higher than the 493 refused entry in the same period last year. The sharp uptick comes as the UK and EU settle in to a post-Brexit relationship, and in spite of a huge shift in travel and tourism due to the COVID crisis, which has seen the UK plunge into nationwide lockdowns and implement strict quarantine regimes for arrivals.