COVID-19: Changes to International Travel
Changes to international travel rules
Countries currently listed as red, amber or green for travel during the pandemic (COVID-19) are changing.
From 4am Monday 4 October 2021, the rules for international travel to England will change from the red, amber, green traffic light system to a single red list of countries and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world (ROW). The rules for travel from countries and territories not on the red list will depend on your vaccination status.
Travel from the rest of the world if you are fully vaccinated
From 4am Monday 4 October, if you have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days:
under an approved vaccination program in the UK, Europe, US or UK vaccine programme overseas
with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from a relevant public health body in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan – mixing between two-dose vaccines (Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna) in this list is also recognised
under a formally approved COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial in the US, Canada and Australia and have a proof of participation (digital or paper-based) from a public health body
You must:
book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test – to be taken after arrival in England
complete your passenger locator form – any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in England
take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after you arrive in England
You do not need to:
take a pre-departure test
take a day 8 COVID-19 test
quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days after you arrive in England
You must be able to prove that you have been fully vaccinated (plus 14 days) with a document (digital or paper-based) from a national or state-level public health body that includes, as a minimum:
forename and surname(s)
date of birth
vaccine brand and manufacturer
date of vaccination for every dose
country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer
If your document from a public health body does not include all of these, you must follow the non-vaccinated rules. If not, you may be denied boarding.
If you are fully vaccinated in the US, will also need to prove that you are a resident of the US.
If you are fully vaccinated, but do not qualify under these fully vaccinated rules, you must follow the non-vaccinated rules.
Travel from the rest of the world if you are not fully vaccinated
From 4am Monday 4 October, you must follow these rules if you:
do not qualify under the fully vaccinated rules
are partially vaccinated
are not vaccinated
Before you travel to England you must:
take a pre-departure COVID-19 test – to be taken in the 3 days before you travel to England
book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 tests – to be taken after arrival in England
complete your passenger locator form – any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in England
After you arrive in England you must:
quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8
You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.
Travel from red countries
From 4am Monday 4 October, you must follow these rules if you are:
fully vaccinated
partially vaccinated
not vaccinated
If you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the last 10 days, you will only be allowed to enter the UK if you are a British or Irish national or you have residence rights in the UK.
Before you travel to England, you must:
take a pre-departure COVID-19 test – to be taken in the 3 days before you travel to England
complete your passenger locator form – any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in England
When you arrive in England, you must quarantine in a managed hotel, including 2 COVID-19 tests.