U.K. Gives Visiting Executives More Leeway

Amid those conflicting trend lines, U.K. officials unveiling the new visitor rules Tuesday said they are highly restrictive and that few executives would be able to qualify. Executives or investors can temporarily depart from the self-isolation required of visitors if there is more than a 50% chance their visit will create or preserve at least 500 U.K.-based jobs, according to the U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

“This exemption is designed to enable activity that creates and preserves U.K. jobs and investment, while taking steps to ensure public health risks are minimised,” the government said.

The U.K. had previously allowed a similar exemption for business travelers, but the threshold was much lower, requiring an economic impact of just 50 jobs. The measure was scrapped in January, a little over a month after it was rolled out, amid a surge in Covid-19 cases over the winter.

The new exemption is based on executives being honest about their business plans and receiving written confirmation from the government before travel. There is no penalty in the event that a job-creating or job-saving investment or other business decision isn’t ultimately made. Investors have up to two years for any new business to be established from the time of arrival.

For executives packing their bags for Britain, the rules about who can be exempt are complex. Attending a routine board meeting is out. But a meeting in which a decision to invest in a U.K. plant qualifies. A visit by a senior foreign executive at the parent of a U.K. company doesn’t necessarily cut it—though that senior executive can leave self-isolation if he or she is meeting with creditors or investors about future funding or investment that could affect at least 500 jobs.

Outside of approved business meetings, all executives are required to continue to quarantine themselves. Any meeting that is deemed possible to conduct remotely—via video call or email—won’t qualify for the exemption. The rules don’t differentiate between vaccinated and non-vaccinated business travelers.

U.S. domestic travel has risen sharply in recent months, but business trips—and international travel—are still far below pre-pandemic levels. European governments have tried to spur travel by loosening restrictions based on vaccinations. Next month, the U.K. plans to allow vaccinated U.K. residents to travel to higher risk overseas destinations and return without quarantining. The European Union is set to allow travel between member states from Thursday, using a digital pass that accounts for vaccinations, prior Covid-19 infections or negative tests for the virus.

The U.K. allowance announced Tuesday, coming amid the country’s most recent increase in cases, quickly drew critics.

“It is the lowest paid working people who have got our country through this crisis, risking their lives on the frontline,“ Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, said on Twitter. ”This is an offensive slap in the face for them.”

Write to Benjamin Katz at [email protected]