As of October 4th, the government has changed the current traffic light system which classifies international travel destinations based on Covid-19 risks. The rules for international travel to England have changed from the red, amber, green traffic light system to a single red list of countries and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world.

What do the different categories of the UK’s ‘Traffic Light System’ for travel mean?

• Red: You must pay for a 10-day stay in a managed quarantine hotel, as well as a pre-departure test and two PCR tests upon return to the UK (Day 2 & Day 8). You will only be allowed to enter the UK if you are a British or Irish national or you have residence rights in the UK.
• Rest of the world (unvaccinated): You will need to quarantine for 10 days, as well as taking a pre-departure test, and two PCR tests on return to the UK (Day 2 & Day 8). Optionally you can take a test on Day 5 (Test to Release) to leave quarantine early.
• Rest of the world (vaccinated): You will not need to quarantine on return, and you do not need to take a pre-departure test. You are required to take a PCR test on or before Day 2 of your return to the UK.

How will the government decide which countries go on the red list?

Countries are assigned to the red lists, based on a range of Covid-19 health metrics, which include figures on population vaccination, infection rates and prevalence of variants. The red light category indicates a high level of risk in a given destination and the associated tests and quarantine periods required. Lists are reassessed every three weeks, to account for changes in each country’s COVID-19 situation.

The UK continues to recognise vaccination programmes from the UK, EU, and USA. As of October 4, the UK recognises vaccination certificates 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, Taiwan or the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Formulations of the 4 listed vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, qualify as approved vaccines.

You must have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England.

Where 2 doses of a vaccine are required for a full course, you will be able to mix 2 different types of vaccine, for example Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna. You are also allowed to have the 2 vaccinations under 2 different approved programmes, for example Australia and Japan, UK and USA, EU and Canada.