From the 11th of February the visa rules for entering the UK will change once again, this time in a more positive manner. From 11th of February, any person that qualifies as “fully vaccinated” by the UK standards (see here for list of Approved vaccines and list of countries and territories with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination for travel to England) will no longer need to take a covid 19 test (neither lateral flow or PCR test) nor quarantine when entering the UK as per UK Visa terms. Vaccinated travellers will need to complete a passenger locator form as a mild version of a test and trace but everyone from a country not on the Red List will benefit from these eased UK Visa entry requirements.
What if im not “fully vaccinated”?
If you don’t fall under the fully vaccinated collective, then there is a more complicated route. Not fully vaccinated travellers to the UK must show a negative Covid test, taken within the last 2 days before travel to England, this must be a PCR test. A further PCR test must be booked before departure to be taken when you arrive in the UK. Thankfully, there is no quarantine period required for not fully vaccinated travellers to the UK, provided all the tests are negative.
Natural Immunity
This is still a grey area for the world as a whole (see the recent Novak Djokovic controversy), however the UK have decided that proof of natural immunity is not considered full vaccinated or an alternative to a negative covid test.
What are the UK entry requirements for under 18’s?
Any children under the age of 4 do not have to take any tests or be vaccinated to travel into the UK. However children/teenagers aged 5 to 17 can follow the same rules as a fully vaccinated person.
What is considered “proof of vaccination”?
If you were vaccinated in the UK, this part is pretty straightforward. England and Wales use the NHS COVID Pass as proof, which is easily stored on most phones. Scotland uses the NHS Scotland Covid Status App and Northern Ireland use the COVIDCert NI.
Alternatively to the above methods, people vacanated in the UK can also use the NHS COVID Pass letter, that can be requested via the NHS 119 or on the NHS website.
The paper given upon vaccination will no longer be counted as proof of vaccination in the UK
What if I got vaccinated in other country?
This is much tricker from a UK Visa entry point of view, and instructions are more specific depending on which country you have been vaccinated in. You can visit the government website for a full list of what is needed as proof from each other country.
What about countries on the red list
Red list countries will have their own tailored rules and limitation. These will be updated and reviewed accordingly however at present, the UK does not have any countries on its red list from a visa entry prospective.
Useful Links
https://gov.wales/rules-international-travel-and-wales-coronavirus
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9203/CBP-9203.pdf
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/united-kingdom