International Travel Guidance
18 March travel to England changes
If you arrive in England from abroad after 4am, Friday 18 March, you do not need to:
- take any COVID-19 tests – before you travel or after you arrive
- fill in a UK passenger locator form before you travel
This will apply whether you are vaccinated or not.
You also will not need to quarantine when you arrive, in line with current rules.
Other countries still have COVID-19 entry rules in place. You should check travel advice before you travel.
If you will arrive in England before 4am, 18 March, you must follow the current rules as set out in this guidance.
Until 18 March
Fully vaccinated - until 18 March
Before you travel to England you must complete a passenger locator form – to be completed in the 3 days before you arrive in England.
You do not need to complete a passenger locator form if you began your journey to England in Ukraine or Russia.
You do not need to take any COVID-19 travel tests before you travel to England or after you arrive. You do not need to quarantine when you arrive in England.
Check if you qualify as fully vaccinated
To qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to England, you must have proof of full vaccination with a full course of an approved vaccine.
You must have had your final dose of the vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.
The proof of vaccination must have been issued by either:
- the UK vaccination programme
- the United Nations vaccine programme for staff and volunteers
- an overseas vaccination programme with an approved proof of vaccination for travel to the UK
Children and other groups that can follow fully vaccinated rules
Even if you are not fully vaccinated, the fully vaccinated rules apply if you are:
- under 18 - see Travelling with children in this guidance
- taking part in an approved COVID-19 vaccine trial in the UK or the USA (US residents only for USA trials), or a phase 2 or 3 vaccine trial that is regulated by the EMA or SRA
- unable to have a COVID-19 vaccination for a medical reason which has been approved by a clinician under the medical exemptions process, and you are resident in England
Previous infection
Proof of recovery from previous infection with COVID-19 - also known as natural immunity - will not be accepted as an alternative to proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.
Proving your vaccination status
If you are fully vaccinated under the UK vaccination programme, you can prove your vaccination status using either:
- NHS COVID Pass for England and Wales
- NHS Scotland COVID Status app
- COVIDCert NI in Northern Ireland
Paper certificates are also available.
There are different ways to prove your vaccination status if you were vaccinated outside of the UK.
Check what proof is required for the country or territory where you were vaccinated.
If you cannot prove that you qualify under the fully vaccinated rules, you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated.
If you are not fully vaccinated - until 18 March
This is what you need to do if you do not qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to England.
Check this section of this guidance to see if you qualify as fully vaccinated.
Before you travel to England – not fully vaccinated
Before you travel to England you must:
- take a COVID-19 test – to be taken in the 2 days before you travel to England
- book and pay for a COVID-19 PCR test – to be taken after you arrive in England
- complete a UK passenger locator form – to be completed in the 3 days before you arrive in England
Read more about taking a COVID-19 test before you travel to England.
You will need to enter your PCR test booking reference number in the passenger locator form.
Ukraine or Russia
If you began your journey in Ukraine or Russia, you do not need to:
- complete a passenger locator form
- take a COVID-19 test before travel to England or book a PCR test to take on arrival
When you arrive in England – not fully vaccinated
You do not need to quarantine when you arrive in England.
You must take the COVID-19 PCR test that you booked before you travelled.
You can take the test any time after you arrive and before the end of day 2 at the latest. The day you arrive in England is day 0.
If the test result is positive or unclear, you should stay at home and avoid contact with other people. Find out what to do if you’ve had a positive or unclear COVID-19 test result.
Travelling with children
Children aged 17 and under do not have to:
- take any COVID-19 travel tests
- quarantine on arrival in England
You should check the rules in the country you are travelling from as they may require children to take a test at the start of your journey to England.
There are different rules for children who have been in a red list country or territory in the 10 days before they arrive in England. There are currently no countries or territories on the red list.
Red list countries and territories
There are currently no countries or territories on the red list.
There are different rules if you have been in a red list country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England. If you need to follow red list rules, you must do so if you are fully vaccinated or not.
