Most covid-19 travel restrictions to the UK will be dropped on February 11th. Before this date, read up on what you need to know for arrivals.
Over the course of the year, I have bounced back and forth between the US and the UK more than a few times. I have taken more covid-19 tets than I could count.
I can assure you that the travel restrictions and protocols to enter England and the United Kingdom are better now than they were before.
I wanted to put together a guide to help you plan and prepare for your next trip to the UK. Here you will find everything you need to know about passenger locator forms, covid-19 testing, proof of vaccination and everything else.
If you're planning to travel to the UK and don't want to spend 10 days in a managed hotel isolation, you'll want to avoid transiting via a red list.
The UK can be visited by fully-vaccinated arrivals from many countries, including the USA and most of Europe.
No covid-19 tests will be needed before or after arrival for fully vaccine arrivals starting February 11th. You just need to fill out the passenger locator form.
Until February 11th, visitors can pre-book a test without having to wait until a negative result. You need to fill out a cumbersome form before you check in.
If you want to visit the UK without being isolated for 10 days, the simplest solution is to come from a green list country.
The UK used to have a confusing red, amber and green list. Until February 11th, if you want to enter the UK without a formalQuarantine, you will need to.
In England and Scotland, all pre departure and post arrival testing will no longer be required. Only the passenger locator form is required from that date.
Someone who fancies a trip on a whim can simply fill out a form at the airport and board a flight to the UK without having to take a test.
Most countries are already included in the trusted vaccination country list, even though more countries are expected to be added. As countries are added, we will update.
If you aren't fully vaccined, you will still need to take a test within 2 days of departure and take a test after arrival.
The passenger locator form is the last thing left to deal with because testing is being dropped for all arrivals.
You need your flight number, seat number, address of where you will be staying, and a few other details. It will speed things up if you have them handy.
The passenger locator form takes around 5 minutes to complete. Kids can be added to one of the adult forms with relative ease.
It is worth it if you will be coming more than once.
The UK currently recognizes proof of vaccination from EU nations, as well as proof of vaccination from the USA and UK. The details are here.
If you have a vaccine for something else, you need to take a pre-departure test as well as a 10 day isolation before you can fly.
The UK Government has a page that shows you how to prove your vaccination status based on where you were.
Travelers from the US can enter if they show their US CDC vaccination card. EU travelers can show their proof in either paper or digital form. Neither is often requested.
You don't need to take a test to travel to the UK, or take one after arriving in the UK if you are a fully vaccined visitor from February 11th, 2022.
All visitors from a green list country who want to travel before February 11th, 2022, will need a post arrival test. The test can be taken in the first two days after you arrive. It can be taken the minute you land, instead of waiting two days.
The test must be booked on the Government website of bandits approved testing companies.
I streamlined my arrivals after many trips this year.
You will get a PDF sent to your email with proof that you completed the form. You need to give a valid email in order to receive it.
I now send myself an email with proof of everything in one place, or I can just use my phone to view it. This helps to give the immigration officer a quick view of what they want to see, without having to wait for something to download.
Having paper copies of each and offline downloads on your phone is definitely helpful if you are worried about your phone's data not working. You should double check that you have a valid passport and proof of vaccine.
A trip to the UK is always special even though it is a little more hassle than before.
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