COVID-19: What are the rules for travel in the United Kingdom and which countries you can visit?

Jul 07 / admin@aplbc

Starting from the 10th of July, travellers entering the UK from the dozens of other countries will no longer have to quarantine.

The government has released a list of 59 destinations-including several common tourist spots-which are now “a decreased risk” from coronavirus. However, it can be assured that not all of them, though, have lifted limits on UK visitors as they travel to that particular country.

In this exclusive blog from AP LBC, our travel experts are here to discuss the travelling rules in the UK, and the countries that you can
visit as a traveller.

The countries you can visit and don’t need to quarantine once back

The section here centres on nations in Europe, territories around the world, including the Caribbean, and nations further east-including Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and the lands in Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).

Here are the countries in which travellers are excluded from quarantine as they arrive in the UK:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Réunion, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, South Korea, Spain, St Barthélemy (St. Barths), St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Vatican City, Vietnam.

There is also an exemption on the 14 British Overseas Territories.

More countries will be included “in the next few days’,” the Transport Department said.

From Saturday, the Government would also raise its recommendation on all but necessary foreign travel for designated countries.

The countries that are exempted from the list

You would also have to stay isolated for 14 days if you travel back to Britain from Mexico, the United States and most of Central or South America.

The nations in Europe, the Middle East and much of Asia are therefore exempt. Travellers from Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Russia and anything else that is not on the list would not have to quarantine.

The list should be held under monitoring, so if circumstances escalate in an excluded area, the government promises it would “do not hesitate” to reintroduce quarantine for such travellers.

Similarly, more limits can be imposed on UK travellers if the risk of infection rises.

How about the constraints on my desired location?

Travellers leaving from the UK will also face restrictions-including quarantine-when they arrive in one of the excluded nations. Approximately half of the nations and regions on the list have limits on the entry of British tourists. That involves the following:

Greece does not allow direct flights from the UK, until at least mid-July.
Austria asks the people arriving from the UK to self-isolation whether they have a new medical license or a negative coronavirus check on entry.
Nearly all overseas tourists have been banned from entering New Zealand.
Countries like Australia and South Korea are enforcing a mandatory quarantine of 14 days.
Visitors to Iceland will either opt to pay for a COVID-19 screening or go under quarantine.
You are not permitted to reach Cyprus if you have been to the United Kingdom for the past 14 days.

These constraints can, however, modify. For example, France has imposed a voluntary quarantine for UK travellers entering the country. This is agreed that it will be removed when the United Kingdom removes the restrictions on French travellers.

What are the guidelines in the rest of the other places of the United Kingdom?

Safety policies such as quarantine are put down by each United Kingdom country individually, meaning that improvements cannot occur everywhere. At the moment:

The Scottish Government claims it has not decided as to whether to relax the limits on quarantine
The Welsh Government has still not determined whether to follow the steps taken in England
Northern Ireland would also want the travellers to quarantine coming from both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
The travel details for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be released in “due course” by the authorities there.

What’s the current status of the proposed air bridges and traffic light system?

Ministers suggested that the government was proposing a package of “air bridge” arrangements for quarantine-free travel between the United Kingdom and low-risk nations. They were also referred to as “travel corridors” when they included international travels by land and sea.

The government seems, though, to have stepped away from such alliances.

The proposed “traffic light” system was also not used to exempt countries from quarantine.

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