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]
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: HANDAN
Programs: Air China Phoenix Miles
Posts: 61
So, I'm about to book my PCR test in Shanghai for my trip back to the UK, the clinic has sent me a scan of the result certificate they issue, could someone take a quick look at it and tell me if this will meet the requirements for entry into the UK.....cheers....
Join Date: May 2003
Location: TLL
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Thank you CWS!!
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,652
Looks good to me. You can see the important bits and the word 'negative'. The only place it is likely to be looked at is when you check in.
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: HANDAN
Programs: Air China Phoenix Miles
Posts: 61
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Posts: 63,766
It sounds like he had a suspicion that your passport was stolen or some other similar discrepancy, so he went off to check it out. I've no doubt he had a bathroom visit and cup of coffee along the way. Unless there was something genuinely odd - in which case he would have asked a lot more questions, such as where you live, what do you do - then it's just a passport lost/stolen check and a Home Office check. It can be done in 15 minutes, just about. That's the scenario if a few questions, hanging around the holding area, no meaningful comments on the return - it's a semi-random check based on the BF's suspicion, which turned out to go nowhere. To give an alternative outcome, if for example you had a Tier 3 visa which you had completed, but either your employer hadn't signed it off as completed or it's sitting in that enormous pile in Lunar House, then the BF officer would have said something along those lines, perhaps inviting you to carry some document with you next time.
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 241
I also think this is a non issue since even if supervised in a walk-in centre, there are aspects which aren't verified. But I think you are right to focus on the check-in staff, since from the USA point of view you have made a solemn attestation that you have been tested, and that's the heart of the issue. So if you booked with (e.g. in a LHR context) ExpressTest, who operate in the building they work in and provides tests to the airport's staff, then there won't be a problem. Also if it's a test accepted by VeriFLY and similar products - and they all seem to be accepted - then you should be fine.
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: HANDAN
Programs: Air China Phoenix Miles
Posts: 61
Good to read that from November 22nd the UK is adding Sinovac and Sinopharm to their approved vaccines list, but not for people travelling from china, as it is still not on the approved countries list......guess I'll still have to go ahead and book my PCR test in Shanghai....
formerly Sleepy_Sentry
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 614
I’m planning a 12-hour business trip to the UK from Germany and am fully vaccinated. Do I still need to book a Day 2 test?
If so, are there any providers that offer refunds?
If so, are there any providers that offer refunds?
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: M&S Elite+
Posts: 3,652
https://www.find-travel-test-provide...test-providers
formerly Sleepy_Sentry
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 614
Since it is not a transit, you need a test but do not need to take it of course. Appropriate tests are available for £5 and are probably not worth seeking a refund for. Or you could have it delivered to where you are going and keep it for a future visit. See the list here:
https://www.find-travel-test-provide...test-providers
https://www.find-travel-test-provide...test-providers
Join Date: Nov 2021
Posts: 1
On the gov.uk 'travel to England' website it used to state "If you will be in England for less than 2 days you still need to book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test. You only need to take the test if you are still in England on day 2." Is this last sentence still the case? Asking because the sentence is no longer displayed on the gov.uk website.
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
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On the gov.uk 'travel to England' website it used to state "If you will be in England for less than 2 days you still need to book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test. You only need to take the test if you are still in England on day 2." Is this last sentence still the case? Asking because the sentence is no longer displayed on the gov.uk website.
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: OW Emerald / BAEC Gold
Posts: 472
On the gov.uk 'travel to England' website it used to state "If you will be in England for less than 2 days you still need to book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test. You only need to take the test if you are still in England on day 2." Is this last sentence still the case? Asking because the sentence is no longer displayed on the gov.uk website.
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
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And here is the data from the ECDC on infection rates per 100,000 population, on a 14 day cumulative basis.
And for those looking at Europe's media sites, you can see why there is a big increase in concern for many parts of Europe, since the big rise is leading to talk of more restrictions. We shall hear more from the Netherlands tomorrow, but their equivalent of SAGE has recommended a partial lockdown. Still places like Iberia and North America remain fairly stable, and the UK and Singapore have seen some improvements in the numbers. The EU case rate is 383.9, and Europe is 453.6.
And for those looking at Europe's media sites, you can see why there is a big increase in concern for many parts of Europe, since the big rise is leading to talk of more restrictions. We shall hear more from the Netherlands tomorrow, but their equivalent of SAGE has recommended a partial lockdown. Still places like Iberia and North America remain fairly stable, and the UK and Singapore have seen some improvements in the numbers. The EU case rate is 383.9, and Europe is 453.6.
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 607
Since it is not a transit, you need a test but do not need to take it of course. Appropriate tests are available for £5 and are probably not worth seeking a refund for. Or you could have it delivered to where you are going and keep it for a future visit. See the list here:
https://www.find-travel-test-provide...test-providers
https://www.find-travel-test-provide...test-providers
PS. Same company that offers those £5 LFT tests also has £0.95 PCR tests available for click&collect.