Traffic light system
From 4am Monday 4 October 2021, the rules for international travel to England changed from the red, amber, green traffic light system to a single red list of countries and simplified travel measures for arrivals from the rest of the world. The red list of countries was updated on Sunday, 28 November 2021 and, on 14 December 2021, all eleven countries on the list were removed, with effect from 4am, Wednesday 15 December 2021.
What you must do when you arrive in England
*If you are fully vaccinated*
This is what you need to do if you qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to England.
Before you travel to England
Before you travel to England you must:
- Book and pay for a Covid-19 test – to be taken before the end of day 2 in England. You cannot use an NHS test for this. You must use a private test provider.
- complete a passenger locator form – to be completed in the 48 hours before you arrive in England. You will need to enter your COVID-19 test booking reference number on your passenger locator form. If you will be in England for less than 2 days you still need to book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test.
You must self-isolate in your home or the place you are staying until you receive your test result.
When you arrive in England
After you arrive in England you must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2. The day you arrive is day 0. This is the lateral flow or PCR test that you booked before travel. If the test result is negative, you do not need to self-isolate.
- If you took a lateral flow test and the result is positive, you must take a free PCR test to confirm the result. You must self-isolate until you get the result.
- If you took a lateral flow test and the result is unclear, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the test is day 0.
- If you took a PCR test and the result is positive, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day of the test is day 0.
- If you took a PCR test and the result is unclear, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the test is day 0.
- If your PCR test results are delayed, you must self-isolate until your test result is known or until day 14 after arrival, whichever is sooner. You can choose to take another private test. If the result is negative, you can stop self-isolating.
*If you are not fully vaccinated*
After you arrive in England you must:
- quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 full days
- take your Covid-19 PCR tests – you must book these tests before you travel
You must take the first test on or before day 2 and the second test on or after day 8. The day you arrive is day 0.
If you are in England for less than 10 days, you need to quarantine for the time you are here. You need to book day 2 and day 8 PCR tests. You only need to take the tests if you are still in England on those days.
If the test result is positive
If your day 2 test is positive, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the test is day 0.
You do not need to take the day 8 test if your day 2 test is positive. If your day 2 test is negative, you must take your day 8 test.
If your day 8 test is positive, you must self-isolate for 10 full days. The day you took the day 8 test is day 0.
If the test result is negative
If your day 2 test is negative, you must continue to quarantine.
You must take your day 8 test on or after day 8.
If your day 8 test is negative, you can stop quarantine on whichever is later:
- day 10 – day 0 is the day you arrived in England
- when you receive the day 8 test result
You must follow these rules if you:
- do not qualify under the fully vaccinated rules
- are partially vaccinated
- are not vaccinated
Before you travel to England you must:
- take a pre-departure COVID-19 test – to be taken in the 3 days before you travel to England
- book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 tests – to be taken after arrival in England
- complete your passenger locator form – any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in England
After you arrive in England you must:
- quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
- take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8
You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private Covid-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.
Travel from red countries
There are different rules if you have been in a red list country in the 10 days before you arrive in England.
Before you travel to England – red list rules
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.
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.
If you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the last 10 days, you will only be allowed to enter the UK if you are a British or Irish national or you have residence rights in the UK.
| Angola – until 4am Wednesday 15 December |
|---|
| Botswana – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| Eswatini – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| Lesotho – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| MALAWI – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| Mozambique – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| Namibia – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| NIGERIA – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| South Africa – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| Zambia – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
| Zimbabwe – UNTIL 4AM WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER |
We advise checking with gov.uk for the latest, most up to date information on the restrictions and make up of the red list.
The traffic light system was put in place in order to facilitate non-essential travel in the Summer months of 2020. The restrictions do not necessarily impact business travellers. For further clarification and details, please contact your GTM Account Manager.
