Salford Citizens Advice

Update on travel restrictions: The Red List.

This article tells you what you must do before you travel to England and after you arrive, if you have been in a red list country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive.

If you have been in or travelled through a country or territory on the red list in the 10 days before you arrive in England, you will only be allowed to enter the UK if you either:

  • are a British or Irish National
  • have residence rights in the UK

If you live in England, you should not travel to countries or territories on the red list.

There are different rules for entering England if you have not been in a red list country or territory.

Before you travel to England you must:

  • take a COVID-19 test – you must take the test in the 3 days before you travel to England
  • book a quarantine hotel package, including 2 COVID-19 tests
  • complete a passenger locator form

You must do this even if you are fully vaccinated.

Read more about taking a COVID-19 test before you travel to England at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england

When you arrive in England – red list rules:

When you arrive in England you must quarantine in a managed hotel and take 2 COVID-19 tests.

You must do this even if you are fully vaccinated.

Travelling with children – red list rules:

Children aged 11 to 17 must take a COVID-19 test in the 3 days before travel to England.

On arrival in England children aged 5 to 17 must quarantine in a managed hotel for 10 full days and take 2 COVID-19 tests.

Children aged 4 or under do not have to take any travel tests but must enter managed quarantine.

Red list of countries and territories:

  • Colombia  
  • Dominican Republic  
  • Ecuador  
  • Haiti  
  • Panama  
  • Peru  
  • Venezuela  

Transiting through a red list country on your way to England:

If you make a transit stop in a red list country on your way to England, you may need to follow the red list rules when you arrive.

A transit stop is a stop where passengers can get on or off the transport in which you are travelling. It can apply to ships, trains, or aeroplanes. Your ticket should show if a stop is a transit stop.

Making a transit stop would not affect what you have to do on arrival in England if, during the stop:

  • no new passengers board your aircraft, vessel, or train carriage
  • passengers get off but do not get back on
  • you are kept separate from passengers who did not arrive on the same aircraft, vessel, or train carriage as you

Private vehicles or coaches travelling through red list countries or territories:

If you are travelling to England in a private vehicle, the rules of the countries and territories you drive through apply. If you drive through a red list country, then you must follow the red list rules when you arrive in England.

This applies whether you stop in the country or territory or not. You need to record the countries and territories you drive through on your passenger locator form.

Medical, compassionate, and work-related exemptions:

Some people are exempt from red list restrictions for medical or compassionate reasons, or because of the job they do. Check: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-from-managed-quarantine-for-medical-and-compassionate-reasons.

Work-related exemptions: check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules

Stay up to date:

The risk posed by individual countries and territories is monitored continuously and the red list is reviewed every 3 weeks. Countries and territories can be added to the list or taken off it more frequently if conditions change.

Follow this link to sign up for a government update on any changes to the rules: https://www.gov.uk/email-signup?topic=/coronavirus-taxon/entering-england

 

Tom Togher.

October 2021.