Visiting friends and family abroad

When travelling overseas to visit friends and family, it’s all too easy to feel you’re simply going ‘home’ because you feel familiar with your destination.

You may have been there many times before - you may have even lived there.  But things can still go wrong whatever country you are in and it is important to make sure you take the right precautions before you leave the UK.

You should still follow our general travel checklist and bear in mind the tips below.

Dual nationals

• if you’re a dual national of both Britain and the country you are visiting, it is important to know that the British government can only help you in exceptional circumstances.

Get comprehensive travel insurance

• you’ll still need comprehensive insurance even if you are staying with family or friends.
  
• if you are a dual national, seek advice from your insurer on whether this affects your cover

Visit your GP

• even if you have lived in a country in the past, you may no longer be immune to diseases common in that region, and your children definitely won’t be
• make an appointment with your GP as soon as possible to discuss your travel plans and to find out which vaccinations or medication you might need
• malaria is a particularly serious problem - around 2000 British travellers return home with the disease each year. Make sure you protect yourself if you are returning to a malarious region
• see travel health for more information

Get the latest information about your destination

• although you may be familiar with your destination, the situation of a country can change very quickly – check our travel advice by country before you travel and whilst you’re there

Get your documents in order

• check the entry requirements for a country - how much validity you need on your passport -  and what visas you’ll need. You’ll find this information in our travel advice by country, or by contacting the relevant embassy.

Know what you can and can’t bring back into the UK

• it is illegal to bring meat and dairy products into the UK from countries outside of European Union
• there are also restrictions on importing plants and some animal products and you could face strict penalties for failing to declare restricted items
• check what you can and can’t bring back

Watch all our know before you go videos

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