If you are coming from a non red list country and have not been fully vaccinated in the UK, EU, USA, or other accepted vaccination programme at least 14 days ago, you’ll need to take a Covid-19 PCR test on Day 2 and on Day 8. You will also need to quarantine on return. These tests are suitable for all international arrivals outside of the UK, Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

If you are coming from a non red list country and have been fully vaccinated in the UK, EU, USA, or other accepted vaccination program at least 14 days ago, you must book and pay for a Day 2 test which must be taken on or before day 2 following your arrival in England. You may take a Day 2 PCR test or a Day 2 Lateral Flow Test. Quarantine is not required when arriving to the UK while fully vaccinated.

If you are coming from a non red list country and have not been fully vaccinated in the UK, EU, USA, or other accepted vaccination program at least 14 days ago, you must take a COVID-19 test and get a negative result during the 72 hours before you travel. You must also book and pay for a Day 2 and Day 8 test package, which includes COVID-19 tests to be taken on or before Day 2 and on or after Day 8 of your quarantine.

If you are coming from a red list country regardless of vaccination status, 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.

All arrivals must complete a passenger locator form with details of where you will quarantine when you arrive and the Day 2 test package booking reference number.

You can find more information on the passenger locator form on the government website.

If you arrive from a country that is on the Gov.uk banned list during the last 10 days 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. You can find more information relating to red list countries on the UK government’s website.

If you need to use public transport to travel to the test site, you should travel alone or, if necessary, only with people from your household or support bubble. Try to avoid travelling on busy routes or during busy periods, such as rush hour. Follow guidance to keep yourself, other passengers and public transport staff safe.

The Day 8 test is only mandatory for travellers who have not been fully vaccinated in the UK, EU, USA, or other accepted vaccination programme at least 14 days ago, Failure to take the tests can result in a fine of up to £1,000. Fully vaccinated arrivals or arrivals from green list countries do not need to take a Day 8 test.

You can take your Day 8 test on or before day 8 following your arrival in England.

Negative: You do not have any evidence of an active COVID-19 infection.

Positive: The virus that causes COVID-19 has been detected on your swab. You will need to self-isolate for 10 days in accordance with government guidance.

Unclear: On rare occasions, it might not be possible to say if you had the virus when your test was done. This is because it’s possible that 1 of the genes specific to the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus has been found.

The Day 8 test is the most accurate PCR test available and is mandatory when coming back to the UK because of the growing threat from new variants of COVID-19. 

The test looks for 2 genes rather than 1 which makes it a more complicated test and, if the Day 8 test is found to be positive it is sent for genome sequencing to identify particular variants of concern.

If your Day 8 test result is positive then you must quarantine for an additional 10 days from the day you took the test – further advice will be provided with your test results. Please see the government website for more information.

Unclear

Your coronavirus test result is unclear. It’s not possible to say if you had the virus when the test was done. This is because it’s possible that 1 of the genes specific to the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus has been found.

This can be due to several different reasons including inadequate sample collection, very early stage-infection, or very late stage-infection (i.e. you may have recently tested positive for COVID-19).

Both gene targets must be identified to declare a positive result. We follow retest procedures where our tests produce an unclear result, however, sometimes even with repeat testing the result remains the same.

Day 8 Unclear Result

If you took this test on day 8 of your quarantine you must continue to quarantine until you have completed the 10-day quarantine period.

You may be contacted to check that you, and those who you live or are travelling with, are self-isolating. You must not travel, including to leave the UK, during self-isolation.

We’re a leading UK government recognised provider of all private COVID-19 tests. Our tests are analysed at UKAS accredited labs that comply to ISO15189 and ISO17025 standards.

If you are required to take a Day 8 test and you fail to do so. It can result in a fine of up to £1,000.

We are the UK’s most trusted coronavirus testing facility with more 5-star reviews than any other provider. 99% of test results are delivered on time for passengers wishing to travel.

We have facilities across the UK and offer 1,000s of appointments everyday, including Sundays. Our UK based call centre is open 7 days a week and our laboratory tests 7 days a week to ensure you get your results on time. 

If you would like to see what some of the 100,000+ people we have tested have said about their experience, please click here.