22 September 2021

The government has announced plans to replace the current traffic-light system with a single red list from 4am on 4 October 2021. It has also announced changes to the entry requirements for fully vaccinated travellers travelling from non-red list countries.

Travelling to England if you are fully vaccinated
From 4am on 4 October 2021, fully vaccinated travellers who travel to England from non-red list countries will no longer be required to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test, day eight post-arrival COVID-19 test or quarantine. Instead, they will only be required to book and pay for a day two post-arrival COVID-19 test before travel and take the test on or before day two of their arrival in England.

Fully vaccinated means 14 days after the administration of the second vaccine of an approved two-dose vaccine (eg Moderna) or the first vaccine of an approved one dose vaccine (eg Janssen).

The list of approved vaccines is Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen vaccines or formulations of those vaccines (eg AstraZeneca Covishield), and a combination of any two of these vaccines will count as full vaccination from 4 October 2021. Currently, mixed vaccines are only permitted under the UK, Europe, USA or UK overseas vaccination programmes.

To qualify for the new exemptions, individuals must have received their vaccines from a relevant health body in the UK, Europe, US, Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, or the UAE. They can receive the two doses (where applicable) from two different approved vaccination programmes.

Travelling to the UK if you are not fully vaccinated
The rules for individuals who are not fully vaccinated according to the rules above remain the same ie take a pre-departure PCR test and post-arrival day two and day eight tests. Individuals arriving from a red list country must continue to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival.

Other changes to the rules
In a press release, the government also said that from the end of October, eligible fully vaccinated travellers will be able to take a post-arrival day two lateral flow test, instead of a PCR test. If a person tests positive, they will be required to isolate and take a free PCR test.

Unvaccinated travellers will continue to be obliged to take pre-departure and post-arrival PCR tests and quarantine (if travelling from a red list country). The test to release scheme will remain open.

Get in touch
To learn more about forthcoming changes to UK immigration law, see our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.