What are England’s travel rule changes and when do they take effect?

Travel has been one of the industries hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, with holidays abroad off the cards for a long time as the virus spread across the world – and all manner of rules around testing and self-isolation once they did return.

However, the latest update to the travel rules will bring us one step closer to normality – with the changes for fully vaccinated travellers coming in just in time for half-term.

The Government website states that passengers who have had both jabs will not need to quarantine upon arrival in England after this time either.

Currently, ‘fully vaccinated’ means you must have had two doses of an approved vaccine, with proof of vaccination issued by one of the following:

• The UK vaccination programme
• The United Nations vaccine programme for staff and volunteers
• An overseas vaccination programme with an approved proof of vaccination for travel to the UK

Currently, this status does not include the booster jabs, but this could change in the future.

Children under 18 are subject to the same rules as fully vaccinated travellers and so will not need to test on arrival in England once the new rules are introduced – while those who cannot have the jab for medical reasons approved by a clinician will also be exempt from testing.

Fully jabbed passengers travelling to England will still need to complete a passenger locator form 48 hours before arriving.

Announcing the changes on Monday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the House of Commons, ‘the year in which restrictions on travel, on lockdowns and limits on people’s lives are firmly placed in the past.’

He said: ‘It means that after months of pre-departure testing, post-arrival testing, self-isolation, additional expense, all that fully vaccinated people will now have to do, when they travel to the UK, is to verify their status via a passenger locator form.’

You should also remember that the changes in travel rules only applies to England – Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales will each have their own rules with regards to testing and travel.

What are the new rules for unvaccinated travellers?

Those who are not fully vaccinated will still have to take a test two days before arriving in England, and book and pay for two PCR tests, to be taken after arrival on day two and day eight (if you are staying that long).

Unvaccinated travellers will also have to self-isolate for 10 days (or for however long they are staying if it is less than 10 days), either at home or in the place they are staying.

They also need to complete the passenger locator form 48 hours before arriving in England, which should include the booking references for the PCR tests.

Things to remember before you travel

While these rules may apply for people arriving in England, each country has its own requirements with regards to vaccination status and testing beforehand or on arrival – you should check what these are before you set off.

No travel is currently risk-free, and the rules could change at any time – the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant or a surge in cases somewhere could lead to a country being put on the red list at short notice – meaning you would be subject to red list rules if you arrived in England after the change in status.

While no countries are currently on the red list, arrivals from any country which is added to the red list must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days at their own expense – regardless of whether they are fully vaccinated or not.

Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Share your views in the comments below.