United Kingdom Shopping, Embassy and Communication
Language
Overview
Official language is English. Other national languages in Wales are partly Welsh (Cymric) and in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland Gaelic (Gaelic). A few French dialects are spoken on the Channel Islands. The numerous ethnic minorities maintain their own languages and dialects, including Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Greek, Cantonese and Mandarin.
Idioms
Goodbye = Goodbye Eight = Eight Eighty = Eighty Exit = Exit Beer = Beer Please = Please Thank You = Thank you Tuesday = Tuesday Doctor = Doctor Thursday = Thursday Three = Three Thirty = Thirty Entrance = Entrance One Hundred = One Hundred One = One One Thousand = One Thousand Friday = Friday Five = Five Fifty = Fifty Danger = Danger Closed = Closed Hello = Hello Today = Today Hotel = Hotel I feel ill = I feel ill I don’t understand this = I don’t understand Ja = Yes My name is … = My name is … I am doing very well. = I’m very well. Wednesday = Wednesday Montag = Monday Morgen = Tomorrow No = No Neun = Nine Neunzig = Ninety Open = Open Restaurant = Restaurant Saturday = Saturday Six = Six Sechzig = Sixty Sieben = Seven Siebzig = Seventy Sonntag = Sunday Menü = Menu Do you speak German/English ? = Do you speak German/English? Toilets = Toilets Four = Four Forty = Forty Wine = Wine How are you? = How are you? How much is it? = How much does it cost? Where is …? = Where is …? Ten = Ten Twenty = Twenty Two = Two Sunday = Sunday menu = Menu Do you speak German/English? = Do you speak German/English? Toilets = Toilets Four = Four Forty = Forty Wine = Wine How are you? = How are you? How much is it? = How much does it cost? Where is …? = Where is …? Ten = Ten Twenty = Twenty Two = Two Sunday = Sunday menu = Menu Do you speak German/English? = Do you speak German/English? Toilets = Toilets Four = Four Forty = Forty Wine = Wine How are you? = How are you? How much is it? = How much does it cost? Where is …? = Where is …? Ten = Ten Twenty = Twenty Two = Two
Public Holidays
01/01/2022 New Year
04/15/2022 Good Friday
04/18/2022 Easter Monday (except Scotland)
05/02/2022 may day
05/30/2022 spring holiday
08/29/2022 Summer Bank Holiday (except Scotland)
12/25/2022 Christmas
12/26/2022 Christmas
(a) If the Christmas holidays fall on a weekend, the following working days are free of work.
(b) Additional public holidays in the respective country entries.
Duty free shopping
Overview
The following items can be imported duty-free into Great Britain and Northern Ireland (when traveling from non-EU countries): 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g tobacco or 200 tobacco sticks for tobacco heaters; 4 liters of spirits with an alcohol content of more than 22% or 9 liters of alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of no more than 22% or sparkling wine; 18 liters of table wine; 42 liters of beer; Gifts/other goods up to a total value of £390 (or £270 if traveling by private plane/boat). Tobacco products and alcohol can only be imported by persons aged 17 and over.
Prohibited Imports
Drugs, rough diamonds and pornographic products, endangered species of animals and plants. Note: Weapons (including hunting weapons, blank pistols, self-defense sprays, knives and snap knives with blades longer than 7 cm) and ammunition require a special permit. This may be applied for through a UK resident sponsor at the Police Office. There is a general ban on imports of live poultry, meat and meat products from third countries (with the exception of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland). More information is available from Countryaah.com.
Email inquiry from outside the UK to UK Visas and Immigration: £5.48 per inquiry.
King Charles Street, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London
United Kingdom
+44 (203) 481 17 36 (£1.37 per minute plus base rate).
http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration
http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration
Mon-Fri around the clock.
UKVisa Application Center Berlin
Chausseestraße 18/18a
Berlin
Germany
http://uk.tlscontact.com/de/ber/page.php?pid=center_info
http://uk.tlscontact.com/de/ber/page.php? pid=center_info
UKVisaApplicationCenterGeneva
Rue Sigismond-Thalberg 2
Geneva
Switzerland
http://uk.tlscontact.com/ch/zrh/splash.php
http://uk.tlscontact.com/ch/zrh/splash.php
Mon-Fri 08.30-12.00 and 13.00-16.30.
Business
Business etiquette
Knowledge of English is absolutely necessary. In business circles, a pin-striped suit or a dark suit or elegant suit is usually still worn traditionally. Appointments and business cards are common.
Opening hours
Business hours: Generally Mon-Fri 09.00-17.00/18.00. Flexitime is also common. Business hours may be longer in London.
Business contacts
Communication
Phone
According to Abbreviationfinder.org, the country code is 0044. There are still around 10,000 red historic telephone boxes (as of 2019) in Great Britain, some of which have been misused. Some serve as retail space, service shops or small museums. There are also modern, dark gray public multimedia telephone pillars that double as internet kiosks. They can be used with coins or credit cards. Around 500 British Telecom InLinkUK units offer high-speed internet, free calls, mobile device charging and touchscreen monitors for information.
Mobile phone
GSM 900/1800, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks. There are a number of network operators, the main one being the BT Group. Cellular carriers also include O2, Orange, Vodafone and EE. International roaming contracts exist. Note: It may be worth purchasing a British SIM card. Since Brexit, some providers have been charging roaming fees. Customers should therefore find out the conditions of their provider before the trip.
Internet
Main providers include Orange, BT Group and Vodafone. In London and other major UK cities, you can access the Internet via Wi-Fi for free in cafes, restaurants, shopping malls and other public buildings. The City of London is covered by a free Wi-Fi network. Internet cafes can be found in and around most cities. Mobile surfing on the Internet is made possible, among other things, by the chargeable Goodspeed Wi-Fi hotspots.
Post office
Stamps are available at post offices, from vending machines and in newsagents everywhere. The mailboxes are red, domestic mail (first class) is delivered in 1st class the next day, 2nd class letters on the day after next; in rural areas the delivery time may be slightly delayed. Letters to other European countries take about 2-5 days. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-12.30pm, although many post offices are open later.
Radio
Numerous German-language radio stations can be received via Astra satellites or via the Internet, among other things.
United Kingdom Shopping, Embassy and Communication
