Find out everything about the UK’s New Coronavirus Travel Restrictions
Currently, there are no restrictions upon entering into the UK whether you’re vaccinated or unvaccinated. But please keep checking the rules and regulations for your destination country as they might be different. Last updated March 18th 2022.
Since May, we’ve been following the traffic light system for travel, with countries being added and taken away every three weeks. However, since the 4th of October, there will no longer be amber and green lists but the red list will stay. So what are the rules for countries that aren’t on the red list? Well, that depends on your vaccination status! As for the red list countries, the rules stay the same as before. Below, we list the new coronavirus travel restrictions rules!
Fully Vaccinated* People Travelling from Non-Red List Countries:
- You’ll need to complete your passenger locator form. This will need to be completed 3 days before your arrival time. But if you’re coming from Ukraine, you do not need to fill out a passenger locator form!
- You don’t need to take a COVID-19 test before or after arriving into England.
- You won’t need to quarantine when you come to England.
Please note that you have to be able to prove that you’ve been vaccinated at least 14 days before your travel date. You can show this proof by showing either a digital or paper-based NHS COVID Pass.
The pass must include the following:
- Your first and last name and must match the name on your passport
- Date of birth
- The brand of vaccine and its manufacturer
- The date you were given each dose
- Country where it was given
If your NHS Covid Pass doesn’t list any of these or the details are incorrect, you’ll have to follow the rules for non-vaccinated travellers. If you don’t follow those rules, you may not be allowed to board.
If you were fully vaccinated in the USA, you will need to show a CDC card. The card will need to show you’ve had an FDA-approved vaccine in the USA. On top of this, you’ll need to be able to prove that you’re a USA resident.
If you were fully vaccinated in Europe, you’ll need to show an EU Digital COVID Certificate (EU DCC). This certificate will need to show that you’ve had a full course of either a Swissmedic or an EMA approved vaccine.
But if you’re fully vaccinated but don’t fall under any of these rules, then you’ll have to follow the non-vaccinated rules.
*By fully vaccinated, it means you’ll have been vaccinated under a recognised vaccine programme from either UK, Europe, USA or a UK vaccine programme abroad. You can check out more information about this on the government website!
If you are under 18, no matter your vaccination status, the same rules apply to vaccinated people.
Non Vaccinated People Travelling from Non-Red List Countries:
If you’ve not been vaccinated, or you’re only partially vaccinated or you don’t qualify as fully vaccinated under the rules, then you’d need to follow these rules.
Before arriving in England, you must do the following:
- Fill in your passenger locator form and this can be done 3 days before your arrival time in the UK. But if you’re coming from Ukraine, you do not need to fill out a passenger locator form!
- You need to take the COVID-19 test 2 days before your arrival to England. But if you’re coming from Ukraine, you do not need to take a COVID-19 test before arriving or take one on when reaching England.
- Ensure you’ve booked and paid for a COVID-19 PCR test which you’ll take after coming into England.
After you’ve arrived in the UK, you must do the following:
- Ensure you take your day 2 COVID-19 PCR tests
If you want to end quarantine early, you can sign up for the Test to Release scheme.
What are the rules for Red List Countries?
Regardless of your vaccination status, if you’re coming from a red list country or you’ve been there for the past 10 days, you’ll only be allowed access to the UK if you’re a British or Irish resident.
Before arriving in the UK, you must:
- Take a pre-departure COVID-19 test and this will need to be taken no more than 3 days before your arrival time
- Make sure you’ve booked a quarantine hotel package
- Fill in your passenger locator form online
Once you’ve arrived in the UK, you’ll have to quarantine in one of the quarantine hotels.
What is the £2,285 Hotel Quarantine Rule?
Upon arrival in The UK, you will be escorted to one of the Government approved hotels for 10 days. During this time, you will be required to take a test on day 2 and day 8 of your quarantine and you mustn’t leave your room.
You will be required to pay £2,285 to cover your 10-day stay, your tests and transportation costs. Failure to adhere to these rules can lead to large fines and even prison sentences. For instance, not taking your first or second test will lead to a £2,000 fine, whilst failure to disclose that you have travelled from or through one of the red list countries 10 days before arrival can lead to a penalty of up to £10, 000!
Which countries are on The Red List?
There are currently no red list countries at the moment. But make sure to keep checking the government website to stay up to date!
If you book a trip or if you already have a trip booked, don’t forget to check out what airport parking companies are doing to keep travellers safe at this time. Many car parks are reopening and offering socially distanced and safe drop-off procedures so go ahead and run a quote to see how much you could save!
We hope this helped you to understand the new rules! If anything is unclear or you’ve questions about something, please let us know in the comments and we’ll try our best to answer them.