Jun 4, 2020, 5:57 am
Last edit by: NewbieRunner
Mod note on thread engagement:
A reminder that this thread is about the self-isolation requirements for UK arrivals.
It is a help/Information resource for those travelling or returning to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from outside the UK. Let's concentrate on news, questions and answers that are relevant and on-topic and stay away from speculations about the spread of the virus, the performance of politicians and other topics which are more suitable for OMNI.
Please stay within these requirements to avoid issues.
A reminder that this thread is about the self-isolation requirements for UK arrivals.
It is a help/Information resource for those travelling or returning to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from outside the UK. Let's concentrate on news, questions and answers that are relevant and on-topic and stay away from speculations about the spread of the virus, the performance of politicians and other topics which are more suitable for OMNI.
Please stay within these requirements to avoid issues.
LATEST UPDATES
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-t...virus-covid-19
18 March travel to the UK changes
If you will arrive in the UK from abroad after 4am, Friday 18 March, you do not need to:
- take any COVID-19 tests – before you travel or after you arrive
- fill in a UK passenger locator form before you travel
This will apply whether you are vaccinated or not.
You also will not need to quarantine when you arrive, in line with current rules.
Other countries still have COVID-19 entry rules in place. You should check travel advice before you travel.
If you will arrive in England before 4am, 18 March, you must follow the current rules as set out in this guidance.
*****
The following historical information is retained for the time being.
The Passenger Locator Form for passengers arriving into the UK can be found here:
https://visas-immigration.service.go...r-locator-form
This can only be completed once you are within 48 hours of arrival in the UK.
Exemption list from quarantine requirements - specific details:
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...k-border-rules
England
Statutory instrument for individual passengers arriving in to England: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/582/contents (this html version is updated, but may not have the very latest updates for Statutory Instruments released in the last few days)
Test to release for England only from 15 December, see post 4776 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32841066-post4776.html
Statutory instrument for transport providers http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2.../contents/made
Scotland
Statutory instrument for individual passengers arriving in to Scotland: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/169/contents (this html version is updated)
Wales
Statutory instrument for individual passengers arriving in to Wales: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2020/574/contents (this html version is updated) &
Welsh language version: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2...0200574_we.pdf
Northern Ireland
Statutory instrument https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2021/99/contents (this html version is updated)
PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR QUICK RELEASE FROM SELF-ISOLATION (based on November 28th updates)
[This section has been moved lower down in the wiki post following the change in self-isolation rule on 7th January 2022[
Any PCR test noted as a UK Government Day 2 test will be accepted for release from self isolation as soon as you get the negative result. If it is any other PCR test (eg "Fit to Fly") and not advertised specifically as a Day 2 test then it won't be valid.
This means that you can:[list]
- Book a suitable Day 2 PCR test before you travel and use the booking reference for the test on the PLF (Passenger Locator Form).
- On your day of arrival go to your scheduled test.
- Proceed to you place of self-isolation and await the result, which will hopefully be same / next day.
Alternatively:- Book any Day 2 PCR test before you travel even if you do not intend to use this test, and use the booking reference for the test on the PLF to ensure entry to the UK.
- Note that you are not strictly required to have a PCR booking before arrival, but your carrier might not know that so you run the risk of being denied boarding
- On your day of arrival (or before end of Day 2) go to a walk-in test centre and take a different test to the one you booked.
- Proceed to you place of self-isolation and await the result, which will hopefully be same / next day.
If you are leaving the UK before the end of day 2 then you do not need to take a test, but are required to self-isolate for the duration of your trip (since you do not have a negative result). Also, if you are self-isolating while waiting for a result (and hence have not been informed of a positive result and need to isolate) you may travel to leave the country.
If you take a test and it is positive for any variant of COVID you will be required to isolate for 10 days from the date of the test.
Whether you take a test or not you may be contacted by the UK Test and Trace system at any time if it becomes apparent that you have been in contact with another case. This is very unlikely to happen before day 3 if it is in relation to your flight to UK. Depending on the suspected / identified variant for that case and if you are fully-vaccinated by an accepted programme (see below for links to what this means and valid exemptions) :- Omnicron or not fully-vaccinated: You will be required to isolated for 10 days, including a bar on travel to leave the country. A negative Day 2 test does not release you from this requirement.
- Other and fully vaccinated : You will not be required to isolate.
- Book any Day 2 PCR test before you travel even if you do not intend to use this test, and use the booking reference for the test on the PLF to ensure entry to the UK.
- Proceed to you place of self-isolation and await the result, which will hopefully be same / next day.
- On your day of arrival go to your scheduled test.
Test Providers for Day 2/8 tests & Day 5 Test to release
This section is for FTers to post their experience with specific providers (good or bad). Keep it brief and to the point. Please mention how the service is provided and your FT name.
DNA Workplace - Postal - Test kits arrived with me on time. Royal Mail slow for return. 5+ days for Day 2 result. #DaveS
DNA Workplace - Postal - Test kits both arrived on time, video of tests required, results by late evening Day 3 and Day 9. #TSE
ExpressTest Gatwick - Drive through - Tested early at 1000 a few times for TTR. Results came through in evening. #DaveS
NowTest - Postal - Day 2 kit arrived on time, day 8 did not. Will update with result arrival times when applicable. #wilsnunn
Collinson - Postal - Day 5 Test to Release kit arrived in time. Results and release by end of day 6. #tjcxx
CTM - Postal - Days 2/8 kits arrived together in time. Both sent results 2 days after posting. #tjcxx
Qured (Oncologica) - Postal -Day 2/8 kits arrived late. Results 3+ days from posting. #Gagravarr
Qured (Oncologica) - Postal - Day 2/8 kits arrived on time. Day 2 result on Day 5 and Day 8 result on Day 10 - happy customer! #EddLegll
Qured (Ocnologica) - Postal - Day 2/8 kits arrived on time. Day 2 result on Day 5 (after bedtime; ironically after my TTR result). #KSVVZ2015
Anglia DNA - Postal - Day 2/8 kits arrived early. (Both were labelled Day2). Results on Day 4 and Day 9. Cheapest on the list at the time, and good service/result. #tjcxx
Qured - Pre-flight test booked and bought through BA. Very efficient service. Highly recommended. #lhrsfo
Randox - Days 2 and 8. Booked two days before return, using BA discount. Kits already arrived on return. Slightly confusing instructions but manageable. Used Randox dropbox and results next day. Good. #lhrsfo
Randox - Day 2 (also used as pre departure test for a London to Milan flight). Used a drop box and results arrived at midnight the next day. #11101
Randox - Day 2 test centre - 2h30 queues outside the test centre in Waterloo. Results of antigen arrived 45 minutes later. #11101
Collinson - Test to Release at LHR T2. Good trip out! Very efficient service and well organised. Used BA discount. Results by end of day. Excellent. #lhrsfo
DAM - Test to Release in Fulham (they have many locations) - the cheapest fast turnaround TTR we have found. They promise 24 hours but in reality me, my wife, and my son (on different days) have received results inside of 12 hours. Very efficient staff as well. Princes outside of Central London as low as 99 GBP. Fulham is 129 GBP. #KSVVZ2015
Boots/Source Bioscience - days 2&8. Both packs sent in the same mail, waiting at the isolation address. Dropped off at postbox at 4pm, result back next day between 4 and 5 pm, very effective. Bought from Boots, £160, but same package sold directly bu Source Bioscience is just £120. Aaargh! Instructions said nasal and throat swabs, did only nasal and marked accordingly, no issues. #WilcoRoger
Collinsons/Stansted walkin TTR - test taken 1:30 pm, email with results 10:10 pm same day If the BA20OFF doesn't work (didn't work for us) there's another discount on the airport's site #WilcoRoger
Ordered Day-2 kit from Chronomics a week before our return for £18.99. Duly dispatched day we were returning to UK, so arrived on day following return. Reasonably simple process to do test and upload -ve result picture. Not sure where +ve result would have led to... #EsherFlyer
Hale Clinic testing centre (near Oxford Circus) - While not the least expensive, appoint schedules are accurate and results returned in promised timeframe. I've used the clinic for Day 2 tests (twice) and antigen test for US (once). I would def utilize again. #ecaarch
Halo at T5 (Sofitel) - Day 2 PCR spit test. Took the test 7pm, results arrived 7am the next day. No queues but a slightly awkward process to follow.
Useful data sources:
New cases per 100k - 7 days: https://covid19.who.int/table
New tests per 1000 - 7 days: https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-testing
Vaccination doses per 100: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
Sequenced samples uploaded to GISAID: https://www.gisaid.org/index.php?id=208
NHS Track & Trace data (positivity rates for arriving passengers are published every three weeks, so if you can't find the data in the current release it will be in one of the previous two) https://www.gov.uk/government/collec...weekly-reports https://assets.publishing.service.go...ut_week_50.ods
UK daily COVID data https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga...827.1594116739
Risk assessment methodology to inform international travel traffic light system
Data informing international travel traffic-light risk assessments
Testing Terminology
Notes which may assist with understanding which tests to use and with "reuse" of UK tests for other countries regulations:
- LFT: Lateral Flow Test - A rapid antigen test using nasal / throat swab typically performed by the traveler at home, hotel, etc using simple disposable device. Usually tests the "outer shell" of the nucleus (which causes the symptoms and is reasonably stable across variants) and not the "spikes" (which allow new variants to invade more easily), so gives a positive result for many variants. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-...d_antigen_test)
- PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction - A laboratory based test which looks at the nucleus of the virus to determine which specific variant it is. After a positive LFT test ("I have some form of COVID") a PCR test ("You have the Gamma variant") allows identification and tracking of new variants to see if they are likely to become a "variant of concern". (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerase_chain_reaction)
- NAAT: Nucleic Acid Amplification Test - A general class of laboratory based tests which includes PCR, LAMP, etc tests. (See https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...b/naats.html)
UK arrivals - pre-departure, quarantine and post-arrival [currently no requirements]
Oct 25, 2020, 4:17 am
#4486
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,844
I have changed some of the older data to make it, well, less old. The above figures are the ECDC figures for 100,000 of population over the last 14 days of reporting. As is usual, some countries do not report updated figures today so they are in italics, as is Turkey since their data quality is open to question.
Oct 25, 2020, 4:48 am
#4487
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Kazakhstan
Programs: BA Gold, AirAstana Silver (much use as chocolate teapot)
Posts: 867
It is on the front page of the Sunday Times. You can read that from the BBC web site (just about). It says '... City dealmakers, hedge fund managers and company bosses flying into the UK will be exempt from the 14 day quarantine period under plans to "promote global Britain".
Oct 25, 2020, 5:16 am
#4488
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: VIE
Programs: SAS EBS / *A Silver, Hilton Diamond, Radisson VIP, IHG Platinum Ambassador
Posts: 3,789
Are Sweden's Saturday data complete, or are they likely to be subject to a review in upcoming days? Thanks.
Oct 25, 2020, 5:21 am
#4489
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Falkirk, Scotland,VS Red, BA Gold, HH Diamond,UK Amex Plat
Programs: Master of the Privy Purse des Muccis
Posts: 17,919
Hi,
Looking at the raw data in the ECDC spreadsheet, it looks like Sweden has not reported for Saturday ( 0 cases) so it is likely to report a larger figure tomorrow/Tuesday ( and is reported in italics in c-w-s's table above)
Regards
TBS
Last edited by The _Banking_Scot; Oct 25, 2020 at 5:29 am
Oct 25, 2020, 5:47 am
#4490
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,238
I guess if the caller knew the OP's name, then it would be evidence that it was not random deception by someone arriving?
To be honest, entering the wrong number with the right name would be very counter-productive: if the worst came to the worst, the authorities would still have your name yet would likely call someone who would be out since they wouldn't need to self-isolate. And if you are going to enter the wrong name, you'd better hope that your passport is not checked alongside the form.
To be honest, entering the wrong number with the right name would be very counter-productive: if the worst came to the worst, the authorities would still have your name yet would likely call someone who would be out since they wouldn't need to self-isolate. And if you are going to enter the wrong name, you'd better hope that your passport is not checked alongside the form.
It is on the front page of the Sunday Times. You can read that from the BBC web site (just about). It says '... City dealmakers, hedge fund managers and company bosses flying into the UK will be exempt from the 14 day quarantine period under plans to "promote global Britain".
Oct 25, 2020, 7:58 am
#4491
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,016
It is on the front page of the Sunday Times. You can read that from the BBC web site (just about). It says '... City dealmakers, hedge fund managers and company bosses flying into the UK will be exempt from the 14 day quarantine period under plans to "promote global Britain".
Oct 25, 2020, 8:19 am
#4492
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,658
You will need to wait for details of the policy to be announced, if it ever is. From past experience the requirements will be complex and open to interpretation.
Oct 25, 2020, 8:39 am
#4493
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,282
Most of the UK papers today are reporting on comments from people close to the government saying that quarantine/isolation periods my be cut to 7-10 days. The BBC has a statistic saying 10.9% of people comply with 14 day self isolation after being contacted by track & trace. The theory is that whilst cutting to 7-10 days is less safe, far more people will be ready to comply which will mean a net benefit. Some of the papers suggest that any cut could be aligned with changes to the travel isolation rules too. The stories also report that the government is worried that compliance will drop further or fall apart as Christmas approaches unless they do something.
Note: The 10.9% figure is for people contacted by track & track as contacts of someone infected rather than travellers who should self isolate. Whether a traveller is more or less likely to follow the rules is a matter for speculation.
Note: The 10.9% figure is for people contacted by track & track as contacts of someone infected rather than travellers who should self isolate. Whether a traveller is more or less likely to follow the rules is a matter for speculation.
i saw this report in channelnewsasia.com
the shortening of the quarantine is referring to those contact of confirm cases ?
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...cases-13366612
Oct 25, 2020, 8:42 am
#4494
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,282
It is on the front page of the Sunday Times. You can read that from the BBC web site (just about). It says '... City dealmakers, hedge fund managers and company bosses flying into the UK will be exempt from the 14 day quarantine period under plans to "promote global Britain".
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...cases-13366612
Oct 25, 2020, 9:08 am
#4495
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 314
I don’t understand why they don’t do a 5 day quarantine with pre-trip testing and a follow up test. Clearly people are not fully complying with the 14 day quarantine, and having a quarantine that people ignore is useless.
Oct 25, 2020, 9:26 am
#4496
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Rhineland-Palatinate
Programs: *A Gold (A3), HHonor Gold
Posts: 5,701
Considering the 10% figures comes from people contacted by Track&Trace, that the figure for adherence to isolate in case of having symptoms was around 15%, I think that even a 5 days quarantine will not work. The UK has a clear issue of people following the rules, for various reasons. Before making any scheme this root cause has to be addressed.
Oct 25, 2020, 9:38 am
#4497
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 314
Considering the 10% figures comes from people contacted by Track&Trace, that the figure for adherence to isolate in case of having symptoms was around 15%, I think that even a 5 days quarantine will not work. The UK has a clear issue of people following the rules, for various reasons. Before making any scheme this root cause has to be addressed.
Not to mention, if they think compliance is bad now then they just need to just wait for the holidays. People will ignore the rule of 6 (if it’s still in place), inter household mixing, and quarantine.
Oct 25, 2020, 9:58 am
#4498
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Bregenz, Austria
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Posts: 2,950
Oct 25, 2020, 10:04 am
#4499
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,658
Bear in mind that this is little more than a kite flying exercise by some people close to the government at present. I would not go rushing over to Companies House just yet. You might find conditions like a minimum of £1b annual turn-over at the last audited accounts attached to it.
Oct 25, 2020, 10:53 am
#4500
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Some
Posts: 5,263
Hallelujah!
After, what?, 5-6 months of a form that was frankly complete and utter **** (very little exaggeration here that an eight year old with decent computer skills could probably do a better job of it), the UK PLF has finally been updated!
Just filling in my PLF this evening and two of my four major bugbears with the form have been fixed:
Why that took so long, I have no idea.
After, what?, 5-6 months of a form that was frankly complete and utter **** (very little exaggeration here that an eight year old with decent computer skills could probably do a better job of it), the UK PLF has finally been updated!
Just filling in my PLF this evening and two of my four major bugbears with the form have been fixed:
- It no longer unnecessarily asks for your airline booking reference (I am willing to bet a large amount of money the information they have already collected is not being stored in a GDPR compliant way, though, expect everyone’s frequent flyer details to turn up on a memory stick on a train shortly)
- You now only have to enter your address once and then can tick a box to complete it elsewhere on the form
Why that took so long, I have no idea.