International Travel Rules - Updated 19th July 2021
At 4am this morning (19th July 2021) the rules for international arrivals into the UK (from amber list destinations) have changed for travellers who are fully vaccinated.
Fully vaccinated travellers arriving into England after 4am on 19th July 2021 will still be required to take a test 72 hours before returning – known as the pre-departure test, demonstrating they are negative before they travel and a PCR test on or before day 2 – known as Day 2 Test, but they will no longer be required to take a day 8 test and/or quarantine at home.
What this means is that for fully vaccinated travellers, as of 19th July 2021, the requirements for green and amber list countries (except arrivals from France) will be the same.
For clarity, a full vaccination means 14 days have passed since the traveller received their final dose of the vaccine.
The Day 2 test remains in place, because it includes genome sequencing for all positive results, which allow laboratories to report additional data on whether a variant of concern or a variant under investigation has been identified.
Please see below the links for further Government guidance:
Pre-departure test – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england
Government approved testing providers – https://www.gov.uk/find-travel-test-provider
These rules are in place for England. The rules for foreign travel for devolved administrations are:
Northern Ireland https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-advice
Wales - https://gov.wales/rules-foreign-travel-and-wales-coronavirus-covid-19-html
Testing providers
Since April 2021, The Travel Network Group, of which Keyhole International is a member, has recommended 2 testing providers, based on their daily testing capacities and cost of home test kits:
1. Randox Health https://www.randoxhealth.com/ - by inputting a code as a discount coupon at the checkout, Keyhole International customers will get a discounted price of £43 per home test kit. If you would like access to this code, then please contact me.
2. Eurofins Covid Testing Services https://www.eurofins.co.uk/pcr-testing-kits/ - the price for their home test kits ranges between £44.90 - £54.90.
Travelling with children
Children travelling with fully vaccinated adults will also be exempt from quarantine and certain tests. Please see below the different requirements, based on children’s age:
Age of child Quarantine Pre-departure test (before returning to England) Day 2 test
4 and under No No No
5 to 10 No No Yes
11 to 17 No Yes Yes
Covid-19 vaccine certification for international travel - England
Passengers will need to prove their vaccination status and they will do that either through the NHS COVID Pass available on the main NHS App – not the NHS COVID-19 app – or via the accessible letter, which can be obtained by calling 119 for those without access to smartphones / internet.
NHS Covid pass - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/
NHS app - https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/
Letter from the NHS – those customers without access to smartphones / internet can request their letter by calling 119, two weeks after having their 2nd dose of the vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose Janssen vaccine. They should receive the letter within 5 working days.
Covid-19 vaccine certification for international travel - Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Northern Ireland – please click here
Scotland – please click here
Wales – please click here
Passenger locator form
Fully vaccinated passengers returning to England will be asked to include their vaccination status on their passenger locator form, if they wish to benefit from the exemption to self-isolate.
Transport operators and carriers will be required to check a passenger’s proof of being fully vaccinated before they are able to get on the form of transport they are travelling on.
FCDO advice
As of 19th July, the recommendation that people should not travel to amber countries is being removed. Passengers should continue to check the Foreign Office travel advice, to understand the latest entry requirements and COVID-19 rules at their destination https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
For further details about entry requirements, health and safety protocols and services available in different European destinations, please visit https://reopen.europa.eu/en/map/GRC/6001
NB: The change coming into force on 19th July is currently applicable only to those vaccinated in the UK. The Government is yet to release information on when fully vaccinated travellers from other countries will be allowed to enter with no quarantine and less testing requirements.