UK | New international travel rules released effective from October 4, 2021

The UK government has released a new guidance for international travel on September 21, 2021. The key points of the guidance are:

• UK government has listed the various countries to be eligible to enter UK under an approved vaccination programme in the UK, Europe, USA or UK vaccine programme overseas with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from a relevant public health body in Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan or the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• They have Formulated a list of following vaccines as approved vaccines:

1. 1. AstraZeneca Covishield,
   2. AstraZeneca Vaxzevria
   3. Moderna Takeda.

• From October 4, the rules for international travel will change from the red, amber, green classification of countries to a single red list of countries. For travel from countries not on the red list, the rules will depend only the traveller’s vaccination status.
• One must have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in UK.
• The fully vaccinated passengers could replace day 2 PCR tests with cheaper lateral flow tests – from the end of October – and no longer need to take pre-departure tests (PDTs).
• Until 4 October, mixed vaccines are only permitted if you are vaccinated under the UK, Europe, USA or UK overseas vaccination programme. The rules for fully vaccinated people will also apply if you are either:

1. 1. Less than 18 years and resident in the UK or one of the listed countries or territories with approved vaccination programmes
   2. taking part in an approved COVID-19 vaccine trial in the UK, Australia, Canada or the USA

If you qualify as fully vaccinated, you will have to:

1. book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test – to be taken after arrival in England
2. complete your passenger locator form – any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in England
3. take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2, after you arrive in England

• Under the new rules, the pre-departure test and 8^th day COVID-19 test will not be required.

Travel from INDIA:

The Government of United Kingdom has included AstraZeneca Covishield in its list of accepted vaccines against Covid-19. Regardless of the vaccination status, travellers from India have to take a pre-departure test, and Covid-19 test on or before Day 2nd on or after Day 8, and self-isolate for 10 days.

For details, click HERE and HERE.

*Tanvi Singh, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.