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]
Sep 13, 2021, 1:49 pm
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,657
I take it from your prior posts no way of getting to a randox drop box? That would be the closest guarantee that your plan will work. If you can put it in a box on Friday, you will very likely get the result late Saturday and almost certainly latest on Sunday. I did similar last week though I had 4 rather than three days (arrive Saturday, dropped test Sunday, result came Monday, traveled Wednesday).
Sep 13, 2021, 2:41 pm
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,021
So I got my Randox test results back, no covid, yay!
Here is my timeline in case anyone is interested.
I ordered Randox Thursday 9/9 morning around 11:00AM,
I filled out PLF 11:30AM,
I took the flight 9/9, got to LHR 9/10.
I got the Randox box on 9/12, it was delivered,
I took the test 9/12,
I dropped the box 9/12,
I got test results back 9/13.
Here is my timeline in case anyone is interested.
I ordered Randox Thursday 9/9 morning around 11:00AM,
I filled out PLF 11:30AM,
I took the flight 9/9, got to LHR 9/10.
I got the Randox box on 9/12, it was delivered,
I took the test 9/12,
I dropped the box 9/12,
I got test results back 9/13.
Sep 13, 2021, 5:09 pm
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 30,022
And Friday I'll be in Margate all day. No boxes anywhere there so I'll be pre-printing that signature track service label and get it dropped into a royal mail box Friday afternoon. It will arrive there the next day (according to that postage service)
Sep 13, 2021, 7:27 pm
Join Date: Dec 2017
Programs: Aeroplan75K, BASilver
Posts: 81
Can entry test be used for exit purposes too?
I arrive in London by train from Paris on 29th sept and leave for YYZ on October 2nd. Can I use the Day 2 test which I intend get done on Sept 30 to meet my 72 hr entry requirements into Canada?
Sep 13, 2021, 7:43 pm
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: All over
Programs: AA-LTP, HH-DIA, Marriott-LT+AMB, Hyatt-Globalist, Hertz-PC, UA-GS
Posts: 6,828
I would confirm with your testing provider to make sure it has the necessary info for your Canada req's. I did express test day two and flew out, but the cert didnt have all the info for the country I was heading to.
Sep 13, 2021, 11:34 pm
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,657
Yes you can use a day 2 test for travel. But you need to make sure as chanp rightly says that it contains the information required by Canada.
Sep 14, 2021, 2:13 am
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Kazakhstan
Programs: BA Gold, AirAstana Silver (much use as chocolate teapot)
Posts: 867
You can but you need to watch the turaround time on day 2 tests. Not all places will guarantee a turaround in time. I came in yesterday & am leaving Thursday so need my results back tomorrow (6:30am flight Thursday). I also have to have a PCR for where I am going so off in a few minutes to get 2 PCRs done a day 2 & an express PCR. The express is guaranteed to be back tomorrow. 2 weeks back I cam into the UK on Thursday was leaving again on the Monday. Gpt the day 2 done on the Friday booked a Rapid antigen for the Sunday, as it was got the Day 2 results on the sunday morning so used that & cancelled the rapid antigen.
Sep 14, 2021, 2:23 am
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
So there's some changes to the PLF asking you to upload your vaccination certificate or scan its QR code, can't get it to work, either says the file is too small or it won't scan it as it has 2 QR codes, they all will won't they if you've had 2 doses? It doesn't give me the option of trying to scan 1 QR code so it says I have to show it at the border so no e-gates for me I presume?
Sep 14, 2021, 4:51 am
Join Date: Dec 2017
Programs: Aeroplan75K, BASilver
Posts: 81
You can but you need to watch the turaround time on day 2 tests. Not all places will guarantee a turaround in time. I came in yesterday & am leaving Thursday so need my results back tomorrow (6:30am flight Thursday). I also have to have a PCR for where I am going so off in a few minutes to get 2 PCRs done a day 2 & an express PCR. The express is guaranteed to be back tomorrow. 2 weeks back I cam into the UK on Thursday was leaving again on the Monday. Gpt the day 2 done on the Friday booked a Rapid antigen for the Sunday, as it was got the Day 2 results on the sunday morning so used that & cancelled the rapid antigen.
Another quick question. I pulled out the requirements for Canada. Do the Day 2 results have this information?
- Traveller name and date of birth
- Name and civic address of the laboratory/clinic/facility that administered the test
- The date on which the test was conducted
- The type of test conducted
- The test result
Last edited by smangalam; Sep 14, 2021 at 4:59 am
Sep 14, 2021, 5:20 am
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: I am a lowly ant
Posts: 1,751
So there's some changes to the PLF asking you to upload your vaccination certificate or scan its QR code, can't get it to work, either says the file is too small or it won't scan it as it has 2 QR codes, they all will won't they if you've had 2 doses? It doesn't give me the option of trying to scan 1 QR code so it says I have to show it at the border so no e-gates for me I presume?
I hope they weren't paying a consultancy firm £1000/day/developer for this poorly built functionality but I rather fear they were. It's an embarrassment.
Basically the NHS app provides you with a PDF which the PLF doesn't want to read because someone decided that what everyone wants in this digital word is to scan pieces of paper and this is the default way to confirm your vaccine status.
Anyway, reject the 'scan a qr' code, download the pdf from the app and don't attempt to upload it because whoever signed off the functionality is an idiot and it cannot cope with the obvious and logical NHS app -> pdf -> PLF workflow - it claims to be able to read pdfs, but presumably the PDFs it is capable of reading are ancient Nordic runes, because it sure as hell can't read the NHS vaccine status PDF
So if you instead open the PDF, take a screenshot of the pdf in ms paint then if you save it as a PNG some complete and utter moron decided that there should be a minimum file size of 50kb, which is stupid since the barcode contains only around 1kb of data, and because PNG is lossless and therefore objectively superior to JPG for this purpose (storing what effectively amounts to a few lines of text encoded in an image). So you have to save it as a JPEG, which is a lossy compression method, and turn the quality up so you get a big enough file size to satisfy the idiot manager who wrote the spec for the file upload. Then it will probably tell you your file is not big enough and it has to be 500x600 or something like that. (I'm pretty sure the QR is square, so not sure why the minimum dimensions are rectangular, but see the earlier comments about idiots)
I think this will depend on your screen resolution but my screenshot from the pdf was just a bit too small dimension-wise, but what you can do is make a new blank image of the correct size in Paint, then take a screenshot of qr 2, crop it to size and then copy paste it to the blank image you made. This will then be accepted provided you use save as jpeg so the file is over 50kb
It's not obvious whether the program actually reads your qr, because if it does that makes it completely pointless to make all the requirements about file size and dimensions, because the data are either readable or not, and if they are readable then the QR could be stored in a tiny file and that should be perfectly acceptable, and equally you could upload 1MB of blurred garbage and that would be useless. It's possible they don't actually read it, because it says something about the qr expiring after 2 weeks so presumably there is some sort of key that they change regularly, and it's possible the PLF program isn't privy to this decryption key. To double check you could just upload random data of the requested size and see if it accepts it. At any rate I uploaded the QR after the requisite ridiculous fiddling and it was accepted, so....
Last edited by meester69; Sep 14, 2021 at 5:28 am
Sep 14, 2021, 6:15 am
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
The person who built this functionality obviously didn't analyse the normal workflow properly at all
I hope they weren't paying a consultancy firm £1000/day/developer for this poorly built functionality but I rather fear they were. It's an embarrassment.
Basically the NHS app provides you with a PDF which the PLF doesn't want to read because someone decided that what everyone wants in this digital word is to scan pieces of paper and this is the default way to confirm your vaccine status.
Anyway, reject the 'scan a qr' code, download the pdf from the app and don't attempt to upload it because whoever signed off the functionality is an idiot and it cannot cope with the obvious and logical NHS app -> pdf -> PLF workflow - it claims to be able to read pdfs, but presumably the PDFs it is capable of reading are ancient Nordic runes, because it sure as hell can't read the NHS vaccine status PDF
So if you instead open the PDF, take a screenshot of the pdf in ms paint then if you save it as a PNG some complete and utter moron decided that there should be a minimum file size of 50kb, which is stupid since the barcode contains only around 1kb of data, and because PNG is lossless and therefore objectively superior to JPG for this purpose (storing what effectively amounts to a few lines of text encoded in an image). So you have to save it as a JPEG, which is a lossy compression method, and turn the quality up so you get a big enough file size to satisfy the idiot manager who wrote the spec for the file upload. Then it will probably tell you your file is not big enough and it has to be 500x600 or something like that. (I'm pretty sure the QR is square, so not sure why the minimum dimensions are rectangular, but see the earlier comments about idiots)
I think this will depend on your screen resolution but my screenshot from the pdf was just a bit too small dimension-wise, but what you can do is make a new blank image of the correct size in Paint, then take a screenshot of qr 2, crop it to size and then copy paste it to the blank image you made. This will then be accepted provided you use save as jpeg so the file is over 50kb
It's not obvious whether the program actually reads your qr, because if it does that makes it completely pointless to make all the requirements about file size and dimensions, because the data are either readable or not, and if they are readable then the QR could be stored in a tiny file and that should be perfectly acceptable, and equally you could upload 1MB of blurred garbage and that would be useless. It's possible they don't actually read it, because it says something about the qr expiring after 2 weeks so presumably there is some sort of key that they change regularly, and it's possible the PLF program isn't privy to this decryption key. To double check you could just upload random data of the requested size and see if it accepts it. At any rate I uploaded the QR after the requisite ridiculous fiddling and it was accepted, so....
I hope they weren't paying a consultancy firm £1000/day/developer for this poorly built functionality but I rather fear they were. It's an embarrassment.
Basically the NHS app provides you with a PDF which the PLF doesn't want to read because someone decided that what everyone wants in this digital word is to scan pieces of paper and this is the default way to confirm your vaccine status.
Anyway, reject the 'scan a qr' code, download the pdf from the app and don't attempt to upload it because whoever signed off the functionality is an idiot and it cannot cope with the obvious and logical NHS app -> pdf -> PLF workflow - it claims to be able to read pdfs, but presumably the PDFs it is capable of reading are ancient Nordic runes, because it sure as hell can't read the NHS vaccine status PDF
So if you instead open the PDF, take a screenshot of the pdf in ms paint then if you save it as a PNG some complete and utter moron decided that there should be a minimum file size of 50kb, which is stupid since the barcode contains only around 1kb of data, and because PNG is lossless and therefore objectively superior to JPG for this purpose (storing what effectively amounts to a few lines of text encoded in an image). So you have to save it as a JPEG, which is a lossy compression method, and turn the quality up so you get a big enough file size to satisfy the idiot manager who wrote the spec for the file upload. Then it will probably tell you your file is not big enough and it has to be 500x600 or something like that. (I'm pretty sure the QR is square, so not sure why the minimum dimensions are rectangular, but see the earlier comments about idiots)
I think this will depend on your screen resolution but my screenshot from the pdf was just a bit too small dimension-wise, but what you can do is make a new blank image of the correct size in Paint, then take a screenshot of qr 2, crop it to size and then copy paste it to the blank image you made. This will then be accepted provided you use save as jpeg so the file is over 50kb
It's not obvious whether the program actually reads your qr, because if it does that makes it completely pointless to make all the requirements about file size and dimensions, because the data are either readable or not, and if they are readable then the QR could be stored in a tiny file and that should be perfectly acceptable, and equally you could upload 1MB of blurred garbage and that would be useless. It's possible they don't actually read it, because it says something about the qr expiring after 2 weeks so presumably there is some sort of key that they change regularly, and it's possible the PLF program isn't privy to this decryption key. To double check you could just upload random data of the requested size and see if it accepts it. At any rate I uploaded the QR after the requisite ridiculous fiddling and it was accepted, so....
Sep 14, 2021, 6:21 am
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: London / Amsterdam
Programs: Flying Blue
Posts: 223
The person who built this functionality obviously didn't analyse the normal workflow properly at all
I hope they weren't paying a consultancy firm £1000/day/developer for this poorly built functionality but I rather fear they were. It's an embarrassment.
Basically the NHS app provides you with a PDF which the PLF doesn't want to read because someone decided that what everyone wants in this digital word is to scan pieces of paper and this is the default way to confirm your vaccine status.
Anyway, reject the 'scan a qr' code, download the pdf from the app and don't attempt to upload it because whoever signed off the functionality is an idiot and it cannot cope with the obvious and logical NHS app -> pdf -> PLF workflow - it claims to be able to read pdfs, but presumably the PDFs it is capable of reading are ancient Nordic runes, because it sure as hell can't read the NHS vaccine status PDF
So if you instead open the PDF, take a screenshot of the pdf in ms paint then if you save it as a PNG some complete and utter moron decided that there should be a minimum file size of 50kb, which is stupid since the barcode contains only around 1kb of data, and because PNG is lossless and therefore objectively superior to JPG for this purpose (storing what effectively amounts to a few lines of text encoded in an image). So you have to save it as a JPEG, which is a lossy compression method, and turn the quality up so you get a big enough file size to satisfy the idiot manager who wrote the spec for the file upload. Then it will probably tell you your file is not big enough and it has to be 500x600 or something like that. (I'm pretty sure the QR is square, so not sure why the minimum dimensions are rectangular, but see the earlier comments about idiots)
I think this will depend on your screen resolution but my screenshot from the pdf was just a bit too small dimension-wise, but what you can do is make a new blank image of the correct size in Paint, then take a screenshot of qr 2, crop it to size and then copy paste it to the blank image you made. This will then be accepted provided you use save as jpeg so the file is over 50kb
It's not obvious whether the program actually reads your qr, because if it does that makes it completely pointless to make all the requirements about file size and dimensions, because the data are either readable or not, and if they are readable then the QR could be stored in a tiny file and that should be perfectly acceptable, and equally you could upload 1MB of blurred garbage and that would be useless. It's possible they don't actually read it, because it says something about the qr expiring after 2 weeks so presumably there is some sort of key that they change regularly, and it's possible the PLF program isn't privy to this decryption key. To double check you could just upload random data of the requested size and see if it accepts it. At any rate I uploaded the QR after the requisite ridiculous fiddling and it was accepted, so....
I hope they weren't paying a consultancy firm £1000/day/developer for this poorly built functionality but I rather fear they were. It's an embarrassment.
Basically the NHS app provides you with a PDF which the PLF doesn't want to read because someone decided that what everyone wants in this digital word is to scan pieces of paper and this is the default way to confirm your vaccine status.
Anyway, reject the 'scan a qr' code, download the pdf from the app and don't attempt to upload it because whoever signed off the functionality is an idiot and it cannot cope with the obvious and logical NHS app -> pdf -> PLF workflow - it claims to be able to read pdfs, but presumably the PDFs it is capable of reading are ancient Nordic runes, because it sure as hell can't read the NHS vaccine status PDF
So if you instead open the PDF, take a screenshot of the pdf in ms paint then if you save it as a PNG some complete and utter moron decided that there should be a minimum file size of 50kb, which is stupid since the barcode contains only around 1kb of data, and because PNG is lossless and therefore objectively superior to JPG for this purpose (storing what effectively amounts to a few lines of text encoded in an image). So you have to save it as a JPEG, which is a lossy compression method, and turn the quality up so you get a big enough file size to satisfy the idiot manager who wrote the spec for the file upload. Then it will probably tell you your file is not big enough and it has to be 500x600 or something like that. (I'm pretty sure the QR is square, so not sure why the minimum dimensions are rectangular, but see the earlier comments about idiots)
I think this will depend on your screen resolution but my screenshot from the pdf was just a bit too small dimension-wise, but what you can do is make a new blank image of the correct size in Paint, then take a screenshot of qr 2, crop it to size and then copy paste it to the blank image you made. This will then be accepted provided you use save as jpeg so the file is over 50kb
It's not obvious whether the program actually reads your qr, because if it does that makes it completely pointless to make all the requirements about file size and dimensions, because the data are either readable or not, and if they are readable then the QR could be stored in a tiny file and that should be perfectly acceptable, and equally you could upload 1MB of blurred garbage and that would be useless. It's possible they don't actually read it, because it says something about the qr expiring after 2 weeks so presumably there is some sort of key that they change regularly, and it's possible the PLF program isn't privy to this decryption key. To double check you could just upload random data of the requested size and see if it accepts it. At any rate I uploaded the QR after the requisite ridiculous fiddling and it was accepted, so....
Sep 14, 2021, 6:26 am
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, SIA KrisFlyer, Qantas FF, Emirates Skywards
Posts: 1,850
I can't believe that till today, well after every adult in the country has been offered a second jab, the handling of arrivals into the UK is still unreasonably and unjustifiably restrictive and the systems and processes in places are so poor that it's difficult for most people. It's an absolute s***show. No wonder there has been a quarter of a million jobs lost in the UK travel industry, and many more expected once furlough ends.
Sep 14, 2021, 6:43 am
Join Date: Jul 2008
Programs: I am a lowly ant
Posts: 1,751
I can't believe that till today, well after every adult in the country has been offered a second jab, the handling of arrivals into the UK is still unreasonably and unjustifiably restrictive and the systems and processes in places are so poor that it's difficult for most people. It's an absolute s***show. No wonder there has been a quarter of a million jobs lost in the UK travel industry, and many more expected once furlough ends.
a 10 year old French child living in France needs no pre-departure test, and needs day 2 but not day 8 testing
a 10 year old British child resident in Canada needs no pre-departure test but needs day 2 AND day 8 testing, even if arriving with their vaccinated parent who is exempt from day 8 testing
a 4 year old needs no tests at all
an 11 year old needs pre-arrival test, day 2 testing and possibly day 8 testing depending on their country of residence
so you can very easily end up with the wrong testing package, and while the PLF tries to check you have a test booked, to avoid being fined on arrival, it doesn't actually do a proper job of this.
I have also heard of people declaring that they have been vaccinated because 'Astra Zeneca is British', despite the fact that Astra Zeneca is only accepted if administered in the UK, EU, US or to e.g. army/embassy staff abroad. You are supposed to fill in a declaration, the exact meaning is not always understood by the people that fill it in, and the consequences for errors can be thousands of pounds in fines.
That's before we notice that the list of testing providers is fill of spam like '00000001aardvark testing' claiming to test for £20, but it turns out that is only valid if you visit a yurt on the top of Mount Snowdown on Wednesdays between 11:45 and 11:46am, and the real price is actually £169.
Sep 14, 2021, 6:52 am
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NYC, FLL
Programs: UA PP 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy LTTE, BA Gold
Posts: 6,324
I can't believe that till today, well after every adult in the country has been offered a second jab, the handling of arrivals into the UK is still unreasonably and unjustifiably restrictive and the systems and processes in places are so poor that it's difficult for most people. It's an absolute s***show.
Useless. I get it that check-in staff are burdened with the checks and rules, but please use common sense and be able to count to 3 (or 72).