UK Eases Travel Restrictions For Fully Vaccinated Travelers Starting Oct 4

The United Kingdom (UK) on Friday Issuing fresh guidelines and announced a major relaxation of international travel rules for vaccinated people coming in and out of England.

In the new guidelines the UK said that starting from 04th Oct 2021,  the current traffic light system of red, amber, and green countries based on levels of COVID risk will be scrapped and will be replaced with one red list only.

United Kingdom Travel Update

TRAVEL UPDATE: We’re making testing easier for travel From Mon 4 Oct, if you’re fully vax you won’t need a pre-departure test before arrival into England from a non-red country and from later in Oct, will be able to replace the day 2 PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow.

In addition, EIGHT countries and territories will come off the red list from Weds 22 Sept at 4am, incl. TURKEY, PAKISTAN and MALDIVES.

Advertisement

We’ll also be introducing a new simplified system for international travel from Mon 4 Oct, replacing the current approach with a single red list and simplified measures for the rest of the world – striking the right balance to manage the public health risk as No.1 priority.

said UK Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps

As per the new guidelines, the scrapping of an amber list, which is what India is currently on, means a reduced cost burden for Indian travelers in terms of quarantines and PCR tests.

This means, starting October 4, passengers from India will also no longer need to take pre-departure PCR tests for traveling into England.

“Public health has always been at the heart of our international travel policy and with over 44 million people fully vaccinated in the UK, we are now able to introduce a proportionate updated structure that reflects the new landscape,” UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps added.

8 Countries Removed From Red List

As per the latest travel update, below eight red list destinations moved off the travel ban list from next Wednesday.

• Turkey
• Pakistan
• Maldives
• Egypt
• Sri Lanka
• Oman
• Bangladesh
• Kenya.

The UK in its guidelines stated that from the end of October, fully vaccinated passengers from non-red list countries will be able to replace the current compulsory day-two PCR test requirement with cheaper lateral flow tests.

However, it said that any traveler testing positive will need to isolate and take a free confirmatory PCR test, which would be gnomically sequenced to help identify new variants.

Also Read: Emirates Announces Start of Scheduled Daily A380 Service To Istanbul