FOCUS 2021 Travel Advice

FOCUS 2021 Travel Advice

Guidance for Travel to England from overseas during COVID-19

UK Travel Restrictions & Advice, updated on 22 November 2021

This article provides guidance on travel to England from another country during COVID-19, following UK government guidelines, including essential documents you need to prepare, what COVID-19 tests you need to take and the quarantine rules for travel to England.

Since 24 October fully vaccinated international arrivals from the countries not on the red list can take a cheaper lateral flow test, on or before day 2 of their arrival into the UK.

Procedures for travel to England from overseas:

Fully vaccinated

Step 1: Book and pay for a COVID-19 Day 2 Lateral Flow Test.

Step 2: Complete a passenger locator form.

Step 3: After your arrival, take your pre-booked Day 2 Test.

Not fully vaccinated

Step 1: Take a COVID-19 test in your country 3 days before travelling to England.

Step 2: Book and pay for a COVID-19 Day 2 & Day 8 Test.

Step 3: Complete a passenger locator form.

Step 4: Upon Arrival, quarantine for 10 days.

Step 5: Take your pre-booked tests.

List of UK Approved COVID-19 Vaccines & Proof of Vaccination:[1]

Approved Vaccines:

You must have had a complete course at least 14 DAYS before arriving in England

• Oxford/AstraZeneca
• Pfizer BioNTech
• Moderna
• Janssen
• 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 [2] also qualify as approved vaccines.

Proof of vaccination

You must be able to prove that you’ve been fully vaccinated under a vaccination programme with approved proof of certification.

There are several ways to prove vaccination status:

• the NHS COVID passif you live in England
• the EU Digital COVID Certificate
• the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cardfor US residents
• a vaccine certificate

Vaccine certificates only

If you use a vaccine certificate as proof, it must be issued by a national or state-level public health authority, be in English, French or Spanish, and include as a minimum:

• your forename and surname(s)
• your date of birth
• vaccine brand and manufacturer
• date of vaccination for every dose
• country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer

If you cannot prove that you qualify under the fully vaccinated rules, you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated.

UK Government recognized testing centres for international arrivals

Before you arrive in the UK, you must book a travel test that takes place on or before Day 2 after your arrival. (The day you arrive is day 0.)

Click here for full lists of testing centres.

Testing Centres Recommended by FOCUS

NX Healthcare

Boots

London Corona Test Centre

Alpha Biolabs

Passenger Locator Form

You must complete a passenger locator form online before you arrive in the UK.

You can submit the form any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK.

Click here to start to fill the passenger locator form.

Red List countries and territories

There are currently no countries or territories on the red list for travel to England.

Click here for more guidance on travelling from red list countries.

[1]Original Article, ‘Approved COVID-19 vaccines and countries with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination’, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countries-with-approved-covid-19-vaccination-programmes-and-proof-of-vaccination

[2] Formulations of vaccines include AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda.

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