United Kingdom (Travel Restrictions, COVID Tests & Quarantine Requirements)

This page was last updated on 16 December, 2021.

 

At a Glance

Travel Restrictions

Entry For Vaccinated Travelers: Partially Allowed
Vaccination Requirements: You must have had a complete course of one of the following vaccines at least 14 days before you arrive in England:

Oxford/AstraZeneca
Pfizer BioNTech
Moderna
Janssen (single dose vaccine)
Sinovac-CoronaVac
Sinopharm Beijing
Covaxin
The day you have your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.

Formulations of these vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, also qualify as approved vaccines.

2 dose vaccines
If you were vaccinated with a 2 dose vaccine, or a combination of them, you must have had both doses to be considered fully vaccinated for travel to the UK.

This applies in all cases, even if you’ve recently recovered from COVID-19 and have natural immunity.

Those who have had COVID-19 and have only had one dose of a 2 dose vaccine must follow the rules for unvaccinated arrivals.

Where 2 doses of a vaccine are required for a full course, you can:

mix 2 different types of vaccine from the above list, for example Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sinopharm Beijing
have the 2 vaccinations under 2 different approved programmes, for example Australia and Japan, UK and USA, France and Canada
Single dose vaccines
If you had an approved one dose vaccine (the Janssen vaccine), you are fully vaccinated.
Tourist Entry: Partially Allowed
Testing: Negative PCR test is required for all countries.
Quarantine Required: Depends
Quarantine Details: Quarantine required for some countries.

Local Restrictions

Lockdown in Effect: Partial
Events: Allowed
Transport: Operational with restrictions
Shopping: Open
Restaurants and Bars: Open with restrictions
 

Detailed Travel Advisory

Published 07.12.2021
1. Passengers who in the past 10 days have been in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia or Zimbabwe, are not allowed to enter.
– This does not apply to:
– British nationals and residents of the United Kingdom;
– nationals of Ireland (Rep.);
– passengers who only transited through Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe.
2. Passengers who in the past 10 days have been in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia or Zimbabwe, must have a reservation for a government approved quarantine facility for 10 days, including 2 COVID-19 tests, more details can be found at https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk/
3. Passengers entering or transiting through the United Kingdom must have a negative COVID-19 antigen, NAAT, PCR, LAMP or LFD test, taken at most 2 days before departure from the first embarkation point. The test result must be in English, French or Spanish. More details can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yeypzpy8
This does not apply to:
– passengers younger than 12 years;
– passengers arriving from Ethiopia, Falkland Isl. (Malvinas), Ireland (Rep.) or St. Helena.
4. A “Public Health Passenger Locator Form” completed at https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk ir required for:
– passengers entering the United Kingdom; and
– passengers making a landside transit, detail can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2p99z3zc
5. Passengers are subject to a COVID-19 test on day 2 and day 8 after arrival at their own expense. They must have a payment confirmation obtained at: https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk/ or https://www.gov.uk/guidance/providers-of-day-2-and-day-8-coronavirus-testing-for-international-arrivals
6. Passengers could be subject to quarantine for 10 days. Details can be found for:
– England at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/booking-and-staying-in-a-quarantine-hotel-when-you-arrive-in-england
– Scotland at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-public-health-checks-at-borders/pages/self-isolation/
– Wales at: https://gov.wales/how-self-isolate-when-you-travel-wales-coronavirus-covid-19 ;
– Northern Ireland at: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-international-travel-advice
– This does not apply to passengers who in the past 10 days have not been in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia or Zimbabwe, and have:
-a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arrival, with AstraZeneca (Covishield), AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Covaxin, Janssen, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty), Sinovac or Sinopharm. A combination of vaccines is accepted.
– The vaccination certificate must be issued in Albania, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Isl., Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Eswatini, Falkland Isl., Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR China), India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea (Rep.), Kosovo (Rep.), Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Moldova (Rep.), Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia (Rep.), Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territory, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Isl., Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Vatican City (Holy See), Virgin Isl. (British), Viet Nam or an EEA Member State.
7. There are no transit facilities at Manchester (MAN). Passengers must comply with all entry regulations for United Kingdom.
8. Airline crew not fully vaccinated could be subject to self-isolation, details can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2p8frt9w
9. Passengers with an Overseas Domestic Worker visa issued by the UK must be accompanied by the sponsor or one of the first-degree family members of the sponsor.

 

Detailed Tourist Information

Most fully vaccinated travelers from green list countries could enter UK. Any destination not on the red list (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-list-of-countries-and-territories) is considered green.

Non-vaccinated travelers can also visit the UK but are subject to additional testing and quarantine requirements.

Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe were added to the red list, meaning that entry is only allowed to UK citizens or residents.

Fully vaccinated travelers returning from any country that’s not on the red list are required to prebook and take a COVID-19 test (from an approved provider) on or before day 2 in the UK. The test must be a PCR test, and travelers must self-isolate on arrival until they receive a negative test result. The list of approved test providers is available at gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/find-travel-test-provider).

Vaccine passports from more countries are recognized. You can see the full list here https://bit.ly/3GitgdU.

All unvaccinated travelers and travelers returning from red-list countries are required to present a negative pre-departure test. The test must have been taken no more than 3 days before the departure of the last flight to the U.K. Accepted tests include antigen, LAMP, PCR, and nucleic acid.

Unvaccinated travelers returning from any country that’s not on the red list are required to take two PCR tests (on day 2 and day 8) and will need to self-isolate for 10 days (but they could end quarantine early under the Test to Release program if they have a negative test on day 5).

Passengers who have been in red-list countries (https://bit.ly/3pwjE8v) in the past 10 days, including fully vaccinated travelers, will be required to quarantine in government-designated hotels for 10 days as well as take two PCR tests (on day 2 and day 8). Passengers who have been in or transited through these high-risk countries in the past 10 days are generally banned from entry. Only UK citizens, Irish citizens, and UK residents are allowed to travel from red-list countries and they have to prebook (https://bit.ly/3drnpqj) the hotel quarantine, which costs about £2,285 (about $3,167).

These rules apply for travel to England. Different rules may apply if flying to Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

All travel restrictions and details are available on gov.uk.
 

Lockdown Details

The UK government is only responsible for lockdown restrictions in England. This is because health is a devolved matter, which means that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are responsible for their own policies in relation to public health matters. ‘Lockdown’ was imposed through public health legislation, with separate regulations made in the UK, Scottish and Welsh parliaments and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Scottish government, Welsh government and Northern Ireland executive remain responsible for introducing and lifting restrictions in their respective territories, and can make different decisions.

England, Scotland and Wales introduced the first lockdown restrictions on 26 March 2020, and Northern Ireland on 28 March with only minor differences in their respective approaches. However, at various points during the pandemic, the governments in each part of the UK have taken different approaches, and have had different social distancing rules and restrictions in place..

Wales (https://gov.wales/coronavirus)
Scotland (https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/)
Northern Ireland (https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19)
England (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home)
 

Sources

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors#stay-up-to-date
Data Source: covidcontrols.co