The House of Commons is closed at weekends, on bank holidays and between the Rise of the House for Christmas and the New Year. Attending on Monday - Thursday It is difficult to secure a place in the Gallery during the afternoon.
Members have only a small allocation of tickets, and by no means for every day.
It is therefore usually difficult for them to meet requests for tickets for specific days. Foreign and Commonwealth visitors can apply to their Embassy or High Commission in the UK for a card of introduction , which will normally permit entry during the early afternoon. Embassies and High Commissions may issue no more than four cards on any day, so visitors from certain countries may find cards are booked for several weeks ahead. Please note that such cards do not guarantee entry at 14.30 or 11.30. Quite often, it will not be possible to admit their bearers until after Question Time - that is, after 15.30 or 12.30.