Travel test rules relaxed for fully vaccinated and under 18s

Great news for family holidays! The relaxation of the rules back to what they were in the autumn reduces the stress and the cost of testing for travel.

Pre-departure tests no longer required before returning to England

The government has announced that from 4am on Friday 7 January those who are fully vaccinated and under 18s will no longer be required to take a covid-19 test before arriving back in England.  

Lateral flow instead of PCR tests on arrival

Fully vaccinated travellers and under 18s arriving back in England from 4am on Sunday 9 January will also no longer be required to have a PCR test within 2 days and isolate until they get a negative result.

Instead, they will be able to have a cheaper lateral flow test and a free confirmatory PCR to confirm the result if it is positive.  The lateral flow test must still be booked before you arrive back in England as the reference number needs to be entered into the Passenger Locator Form.

The so-called pre-departure test and self-isolation until a negative day 2 PCR, were re-introduced last month to control the spread of the omicron variant, but have now been scrapped as omicron is already spreading fast within the UK.

Full details of the rules when arriving in England:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Full details of rules when arriving in other UK nations:
https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control

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