Red List Cut To Just 7 Countries From Monday

From Monday the Government has massively cut the countries on the red list, which requires travellers to quarantine in an approved hotel at their cost for 10 full days, from 54 to just 7. If you aren’t fully vaccinated you will still need to quarantine for 10 days (with some exceptions) arriving from ALL non-red list countries albeit not in an approved hotel.

The Government has also agreed to recognise the vaccination status of Arrivals from 37 more countries. If they’ve been fully vaccinated they will be treated as such on arrival to the UK avoiding the requirement to quarantine.

Why is the Red List being cut?

It’s likely that with no ‘variants of concern’ being identified recently the risk factor for any new variants being brought into the UK is very low.

What country’s vaccination status is recognised by the UK?

From Monday if you’ve had both doses of Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca, Moderna or one dose of Janssen (J&J) at least 14 days before arrival from the following countries you will be recognised as fully vaccinated by the UK.

If you have been jabbed with two different doses of these vaccines e.g. Oxford & Pfizer you will also be recognised as being fully vaccinated.

• Albania
• Andorra
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• Austria
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belgium
• Bosniaz
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• Colombia
• Croatia
• Republic of Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Dominica
• Egypt
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Georgia
• Germany
• Ghana
• Greece
• Grenada
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Italy
• Israel
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kenya
• Kosovo
• Kuwait
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Malta
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Namibia
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Romania
• San Marino
• Saudi Arabia
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Spain
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• UAE
• UK
• Ukraine
• US
• Vatican City
• Vietnam

What are the changes to the Red List?

From 4 am on Monday the only countries remaining on the Red List will be…

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

That means all these countries are being removed from the Red List…

• Afghanistan
• Angola
• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Burundi
• Cape Verde
• Chile
• Congo (Democratic Republic)
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Eritrea
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• French Guiana
• Georgia
• Guyana
• Indonesia
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mayotte
• Mexico
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Namibia
• Nepal
• Paraguay
• Philippines
• Réunion
• Rwanda
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Uganda
• Uruguay
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

The most up to date information on what countries are on the Red List you can find on the Government website here – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-list-of-countries-and-territories

What are the current Red List rules?

If you are travelling from one of the Red List countries, regardless of vaccination status, the following rules apply…

You may only enter the UK if you are a British or Irish national or you have residence rights in the UK

You need to take a ‘Fit to Fly’ COVID test (doesn’t need to be a PCR test) in the 3 days before your return to England.

Complete a Passenger Locator Form before your return

You must prebook a 10-day quarantine hotel package, which includes the two necessary tests.

These rules also still apply if you transited in a Red List country on your way back to the UK. Whilst the Government has said this rule will be removed there has been no set date as of yet.

Conclusion

You can read more about the current travel rules & restrictions on the Government website here – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19. Remember these changes apply to ARRIVING into the UK, check the travel advice and requirements of any country you are travelling to as these may differ.