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 17, 2021, 9:11 am
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, SIA KrisFlyer, Qantas FF, Emirates Skywards
Posts: 1,850
Paul Charles is reporting that pre-departure tests are to go from the 4th of October and PCR tests to remain till end of October. If this is true, this is truly disgraceful by the UK Gov. They are putting significant barriers to travel, which are clearly not needed and furlough ends this months. Say goodbye to tens of thousands more travel jobs come October. Frankly pathetic. All the major EU countries don't require any tests for fully jabbed pax, yet their cases, deaths and hospitalisations are much lower than the UK. My heart goes out to the thousands that will lose their travel jobs forever in the coming weeks.
Sep 17, 2021, 9:22 am
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,657
The Telegraph have this:
It does not align with the suggestions that dozens may have been removed.
Turkey, Egypt and the Maldives are among the eight countries are to be removed from England's red list, according to reports.
It is understood that as of next Wednesday (September 22), Britons will be able to visit them without facing hotel quarantine upon their return.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya are also expected to be taken off the red list next week, in a boon for long-haul and winter sun destinations; but the ten-day hotel quarantine at a cost of up to £2,285 per person will remain mandatory for countries still on the red list.
It is understood that as of next Wednesday (September 22), Britons will be able to visit them without facing hotel quarantine upon their return.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya are also expected to be taken off the red list next week, in a boon for long-haul and winter sun destinations; but the ten-day hotel quarantine at a cost of up to £2,285 per person will remain mandatory for countries still on the red list.
Sep 17, 2021, 9:22 am
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,015
Paul Charles also suggests that PCRs will be replaced by antigen tests (which we'll still have to pay for). At least the pre departure testing is being ditched
Sep 17, 2021, 9:30 am
Join Date: May 2021
Location: YOW
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 83
Agree, not significant numbers. And the media does focus on them But, what I've seen they are also reporting the hospitalisations and deaths, which are the most important numbers.
Sep 17, 2021, 9:42 am
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,364
Sep 17, 2021, 9:43 am
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: York, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Honors Diamond
Posts: 1,184
Sep 17, 2021, 9:52 am
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,657
To summarise the changes:
- 8 countries come off the red list from 22nd September (TURKEY, PAKISTAN and MALDIVES) and presumably Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya too.
- The green/amber lists merge from 4th October
- Vaccinated travellers do not need pre-departure test from 4th October
- Vaccinated travellers will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow from an unspecified date in October.
Sep 17, 2021, 10:00 am
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,553
Any news on those vaccinated outside the EU, UK, and USA?
Sep 17, 2021, 10:03 am
Join Date: May 2021
Location: YOW
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 83
Sep 17, 2021, 10:06 am
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 373
Here is all the guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-ambe...land#new-rules
Again, lots of arbitrariness: mix-and-match acceptable if you're Canadian, but not if you're European. Is a trial in France not as good as a trial in Canada? A step forward, but not enough.
I don't know about you, but this all seems to be getting more and more complicated. I sympathize with check-in agents forced to try to understand this quagmire.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-ambe...land#new-rules
From 4am Monday 4 October, if you have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days:
- under an approved vaccination program in the UK, Europe, US or UK vaccine programme overseas
- with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from a relevant public health body in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan – mixing between two-dose vaccines (Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna) in this list is also recognised
- under a formally approved COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial in the US, Canada and Australia and have a proof of participation (digital or paper-based) from a public health body
I don't know about you, but this all seems to be getting more and more complicated. I sympathize with check-in agents forced to try to understand this quagmire.
Last edited by NewbieRunner; Sep 17, 2021 at 11:12 am Reason: Merge posts by same member
Sep 17, 2021, 10:10 am
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,237
To summarise the changes:
- 8 countries come off the red list from 22nd September (TURKEY, PAKISTAN and MALDIVES) and presumably Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya too.
- The green/amber lists merge from 4th October
- Vaccinated travellers do not need pre-departure test from 4th October
- Vaccinated travellers will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow from an unspecified date in October.
So England scraps what is arguably the only test you need (pre-flight) but retains the useless post-flight one. So we ditch the test that prevents potentially infected people from getting on the plane but we keep the one that no one checks and that only tells you "hey, you could've infected a planeload of other passengers!".
Last edited by NWIFlyer; Sep 17, 2021 at 12:15 pm Reason: Remove OMNI/PR content
Sep 17, 2021, 10:18 am
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 90
What a farce.
So England scraps what is arguably the only test you need (pre-flight) but retains the useless post-flight one. So we ditch the test that prevents potentially infected people from getting on the plane but we keep the one that no one checks and that only tells you "hey, you could've infected a planeload of other passengers!".
So England scraps what is arguably the only test you need (pre-flight) but retains the useless post-flight one. So we ditch the test that prevents potentially infected people from getting on the plane but we keep the one that no one checks and that only tells you "hey, you could've infected a planeload of other passengers!".
Seems pointless buying a lateral flow test when you can order 7 everyday for free via the NHS - which you can then report the results directly to them.
Last edited by NWIFlyer; Sep 17, 2021 at 1:33 pm Reason: Remove OMNI/PR content from quote
Sep 17, 2021, 10:18 am
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 710
Sep 17, 2021, 10:22 am
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,237
I'm re-reading the news from the BBC and I still cannot fathom the logic behind it. Every other country that I know of has either a) a ban b) entry with vaccination or pre-flight test c) both vaccination and pre-flight test d) vaccination or test and quarantine with test at the end.
Then there's the United Kingdom - actually, only England at the moment - which is clearly unbothered by the potential of infected passengers coming in, since the test has been ditched, but wants to trace them once they're in (because the NHS Track & Trace has been such a resounding success). And, at some point in the future, the PCR requirement will be ditched.
The data - of how many positive people have been intercepted by the day 2 testing as being positive - shows that the first barrier works.
There's very little proof of forgery for inbound travellers. Conversely, on the day 2, there's no one checking me when I test myself; and most of the providers (e.g. the 22 quid Chronomics, to name one) are extremely dodgy.
And even if this was true, scrapping the pre-departure test has the same logical sense as driving on the motorway by looking only in the rear-view mirror. This has NO logic.
Then there's the United Kingdom - actually, only England at the moment - which is clearly unbothered by the potential of infected passengers coming in, since the test has been ditched, but wants to trace them once they're in (because the NHS Track & Trace has been such a resounding success). And, at some point in the future, the PCR requirement will be ditched.
There's very little proof of forgery for inbound travellers. Conversely, on the day 2, there's no one checking me when I test myself; and most of the providers (e.g. the 22 quid Chronomics, to name one) are extremely dodgy.
And even if this was true, scrapping the pre-departure test has the same logical sense as driving on the motorway by looking only in the rear-view mirror. This has NO logic.
Last edited by NWIFlyer; Sep 17, 2021 at 1:34 pm Reason: Remove OMNI/PR content
Sep 17, 2021, 10:24 am
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,657
Grant Shapps has also said these revised rules will stay in place into the next year.