What is UK Travel Traffic Light System ?
[Updated May 26th 2021] You might wonder if you will be able to travel to England this summer 21. We hope so! At Nacel English School London we monitor the UK travel restrictions very carefully and will keep you updated in real time!
As England started to reopen “non-essential” businesses such as bars and restaurants last Monday (see our last article about the reopening), new UK travel rules have also been announced for this summer 21. The UK government created a risk-based so called “traffic light” system to organize the return of international travel.
Learn more on UK travel restrictions and find out if you will be able to travel to London this summer and join our English classes!
The traffic light system will consist in classifying countries into groups according to their vaccination and infection rates. The so called “prevalence of variants of concern” and the “country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing” will also be taken into account to assess which countries will be allowed to travel to the UK (Source). Here is the classification the government will use:
| An Overview of the traffic light system | |||
| Green Country | Amber Country | Red Country | |
| Pre-departure test | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Passanger locator form | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Quarantine on arrival | Not Required | 5 to 10 Days | 10 Days |
| PCR test on arrival | Day 2 | Day 2 | Day 2 |
| Release test | Not Required | Day 5 | X |
| Additional PCR test | Not Required | Day 8 | Day 8 |
- Green: travelers coming from or going to a “green” destination will not need to quarantine. They will have to take a pre-departure test and a PCR test on or before the second day of their arrival in the UK.
- Amber: people traveling from an “amber” destination will need to take a pre-departure test and will have to quarantine for 10 days. They will also need to get a PCR test after 2 and 8 days of their quarantine.
- Red: arrivals from “red” countries will have to stay at one of the UK’s quarantine hotels. They will have to follow the same testing requirements as “amber” arrivals.
The countries might move from one group to another according to the evolution of the pandemic.
The UK government has already set out which countries fall into which category.
Here are the Green List countries and territories starting May 17th 2021:
- Australia
- Brunei
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Gibraltar
- Iceland
- Israel and Jerusalem
- New Zealand
- Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira)
- Singapore
- South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
- St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Here are the Amber list countries and territories as of May 10, 2021:
- Afghanistan
- Akrotiri and Dhekelia
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaïdjan
- The Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- British Antarctic Territory
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China
- Comoros
- Congo
- Cook Islands
- Costa Ric
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic (Czechia)
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Polynesia
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece (including islands)
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macao
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Caledonia
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- The Occupied Palestinian Territories
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
- Poland
- Réunion
- Romania
- Russia
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain (including the Balearics and Canary Islands)
- Sri Lanka
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Martin and St Barthélémy
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United States (USA)
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vietnam
- Wallis and Futuna
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
Here are the Red list countries and territories as of May 10, 2021:
- Angola
- Argentina
- Bangladesh
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Burundi
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- Colombia
- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Ecuador
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- India
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Rwanda
- Seychelles
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Suriname
- Tanzania
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
As the situation is uncertain, you might want to have a look at this list frequently to make sure your situation has not changed. We know this is a crucial information for our students!
Nacel English School London will continue to communicate on this issue during the coming weeks, so stay connected! Follow our Facebook Page or our Instagram!
