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]
#8956
Join Date: Nov 2015
Programs: Tunnocks Tea Cake Platinum
Posts: 211
Unless you claim you work for UEFA, are part of the Wimbledon, royal ascot trial or claim you are a very very important executive that is doing important business things for the economy.
#8957
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,553
A bit like the Scotland/England hotel quarantine issues a few months back.
#8958
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,967
I know they don't recognise/offer it in that sense, but does it actually say somewhere by law that you would have to go back into isolation? Or is that just what is wanted rather than law, at that point, once you have been released? Because obviously in this scenario you are fulfilling all the criteria by quarantining and testing and then releasing in England.
A bit like the Scotland/England hotel quarantine issues a few months back.
A bit like the Scotland/England hotel quarantine issues a few months back.
for the hotel issue the Scottish SI explicitly said that when coming from elsewhere in the UK you did not have to do enforced hotel quarantine, unlike direct arrivals in to Scotland.
#8959
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, SIA KrisFlyer, Qantas FF, Emirates Skywards
Posts: 1,850
Pretty much confirms no exemptions for the fully jabbed happening this summer (summer holidays end of July to first week of September I think). Probably won't happen till all children are also fully vaccinated, ruling out 2021 as any type of exemption for jabbed travellers.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/am...lidays-1077310
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/am...lidays-1077310
#8960
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Kazakhstan
Programs: BA Gold, AirAstana Silver (much use as chocolate teapot)
Posts: 867
Pretty much confirms no exemptions for the fully jabbed happening this summer (summer holidays end of July to first week of September I think). Probably won't happen till all children are also fully vaccinated, ruling out 2021 as any type of exemption for jabbed travellers.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/am...lidays-1077310
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/am...lidays-1077310
#8961
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 963
This may be the case but its massively unenforceable and the average Joe (who struggles to understand the system in the first place) is even less likely to understand this point.
#8962
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,967
#8964
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,021
Are you meant to complete another PLF to indicate you are moving into Wales or Scotland with the address of your place of isolation? How do the devolved track and trace team know your whereabouts? If English T&T contact you, even after release on day5, do you tell them you are out of English jurisdiction and they then leave you alone?
#8965
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,967
Are you meant to complete another PLF to indicate you are moving into Wales or Scotland with the address of your place of isolation? How do the devolved track and trace team know your whereabouts? If English T&T contact you, even after release on day5, do you tell them you are out of English jurisdiction and they then leave you alone?
NHS England may still keep bothering you, I am afraid even when you tell them you have done TTR they still tend to call.
#8966
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 963
Are you meant to complete another PLF to indicate you are moving into Wales or Scotland with the address of your place of isolation? How do the devolved track and trace team know your whereabouts? If English T&T contact you, even after release on day5, do you tell them you are out of English jurisdiction and they then leave you alone?
#8967
formerly JackDann
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Northern Ireland
Posts: 1,658
I just received my first call since arriving on Thursday. I explained as I did for my partner that we are in Northern Ireland and we do not have the NHS and therefore the requirements are different. After 5 minutes on hold, they came back and told me indeed I am correct and just to confirm my year of birth. A note was then placed on my account and I was told I should not be called back. If I am called back, I was told to explain the same again.
I will now wait and see if I get a call from the Northern Ireland equivalent of the tracing service. If we have one?
I will now wait and see if I get a call from the Northern Ireland equivalent of the tracing service. If we have one?
"We've just done training and they said that we now cover Northern Ireland and that we should continue with the call".
I'm no expert on how it all works in all honesty, but as has been pointed out previously, each nation has it's own health service so i'm surprised to hear that the NHS Test and Trace system is now being used for Northern Ireland, despite the healthcare service being completely separate from the rest of Great Britain.
Unfortunately I was busy, so didn't continue with the call anyway.
#8968
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 29
Has anybody used expresstest.co.uk for their day 2/8 tests? Trying to book and it will only allow appointment for day of arrival (day 0). Called customer service and she didn't know why. As a test I said I was arriving the next day, and it showed plenty of appointment times on my Day 1. Just don't want to deal with testing upon arrival at Heathrow, guessing appointment time, worrying about flight delays, getting through passport control/bags timing.
Does anybody have any ideas/work arounds? The other lab I am considering, Biogroup-Laboratory also has a website issue when booking, Then only show departure countries alphabetically A-C. USA is missing, but hey America Somoa is there! Won't let me proceed without this. ARGHHHHH!!
Any advice greatly appreicated.
Does anybody have any ideas/work arounds? The other lab I am considering, Biogroup-Laboratory also has a website issue when booking, Then only show departure countries alphabetically A-C. USA is missing, but hey America Somoa is there! Won't let me proceed without this. ARGHHHHH!!
Any advice greatly appreicated.
#8969
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,654
Has anybody used expresstest.co.uk for their day 2/8 tests? Trying to book and it will only allow appointment for day of arrival (day 0). Called customer service and she didn't know why. As a test I said I was arriving the next day, and it showed plenty of appointment times on my Day 1. Just don't want to deal with testing upon arrival at Heathrow, guessing appointment time, worrying about flight delays, getting through passport control/bags timing.
Does anybody have any ideas/work arounds? The other lab I am considering, Biogroup-Laboratory also has a website issue when booking, Then only show departure countries alphabetically A-C. USA is missing, but hey America Somoa is there! Won't let me proceed without this. ARGHHHHH!!
Any advice greatly appreicated.
Does anybody have any ideas/work arounds? The other lab I am considering, Biogroup-Laboratory also has a website issue when booking, Then only show departure countries alphabetically A-C. USA is missing, but hey America Somoa is there! Won't let me proceed without this. ARGHHHHH!!
Any advice greatly appreicated.
The only issue with doing this is it would delay your day 8 by a day. That should not be an issue with an in person test as you should get the result by day 10 anyway. It could be a problem if you were having a day 5 TTR on the same booking.
#8970
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 29
Thank You DaveS. I may just go ahead and book D0 at Heathrow and be done with it. Customer service said they are very flexible with testing windows if you miss it due to flight or other logistical issues. And in their favor, I didn't have to wait on hold at all to get ahold of them.