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UK Moves to ban movement from several countries

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It’s Thursday again, so it must be time to update on which countries the UK Government have placed travel bans on, what travel corridors are live, and who’s made the good person list

a screenshot of a travel advice

Countries that the UK has banned entry from

These include:

From 4am 15th January, travel restrictions are being placed on South & Central America to protect against a new COVID-19 strain. Direct flights from these countries to the UK are prohibited. Visitors who have been in or transited through these countries in the previous 10 days cannot enter the UK. British and Irish nationals and third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK arriving in the UK from Argentina will need to self-isolate along with their households on their return.

In addition Portugal – https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/portugal will have the same restrictions due to Portugal travel links with Brazil.

From 4am on 15 January, direct flights from Portugal (including the autonomous regions of Madeira and Azores) to the UK are prohibited. Visitors who have been in or transited through Portugal (including the autonomous regions of Madeira and Azores) in the previous 10 days cannot enter the UK. British and Irish nationals and third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK arriving in the UK from the autonomous regions of Madeira and Azores on or after 4am on 15 January will need to self-isolate along with their households on their return. British and Irish nationals and third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK arriving in the UK from mainland Portugal will need to self-isolate along with their households on their return. Check the latest guidance for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Hauliers who have departed from or transited through Portugal in the last 10 days will not be subject to these measures.

Countries being removed from the travel corridor list

The following countries and territories will be removed from the travel corridor list at 4am, Saturday 16 January:

If you arrive in England from Aruba, the Azores, Bonaire/St Eustatius/Saba, Chile, Madeira or Qatar after 4am Saturday 16 January, you will need to self-isolate.

If you arrive in England from Aruba, the Azores, Bonaire/St Eustatius/Saba, Chile, Madeira or Qatar before 4am Saturday 16 January, you may not need to self-isolate. Read the rules about when you need to self-isolate and for how long.

Countries the are being added to the UK Travel Corridor List:

  • None.

The countries lists

As usual, there are two lists you need to be aware of:

But when you are returning to the UK…

All travellers, including those from exempt destinations, will still be required to show a completed passenger locator form on arrival in the United Kingdom unless they fall into a small group of exemptions. Failure to do so will lead to fines if you are caught entering the country without a completed form.

You will also need to have a valid negative COVID-19 test to enter the country from 15th January (Scotland) or 18th January (England). I’ll have a post on this up tomorrow.

Remember to self Isolate or enjoy a hefty fine

Yes, it’s not going to be a fun time if you have to self-isolate on returning to the UK. It’ll be a less of a fun time on your wallet if you breach the self-isolation rules when returning from non-exempt countries, with fines increasing have increased from £1,000 for a first offence up to £10,000 for subsequent offences, mirroring penalties for those breaching self-isolation following a positive COVID test or contact from Test & Trace.

Remember that the isolation time has changed from 14 days to 10 days. This has been covered on this blog and the update is here.

What about Test to Release?

Test to release is now live for arrivals that will be staying in England. I’ve covered the changes on the blog here. In theory, you can cut down the time you spend in isolation if you get

The official guide is at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-test-to-release-for-international-travel, with test providers at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing#test-to-release-for-international-travel.

You’ll need to pay for testing though…

Remember – International Travel is restricted from the UK

With the UK Government imposing a national lockdown, travel is limited.

If you are in England, you should not travel abroad. You can only travel internationally if you have a legally permitted reason to leave home. There are similar restrictions in place in Scotland, Wales and also some restrictions in Northern Ireland.

 

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