Fully vaccinated passengers and most under 18s arriving from non red-list countries can use a lateral flow test on or before day 2 of their arrival in England.
Fully vaccinated passengers arriving in England from countries not on the UK’s red list can take a cheaper lateral flow test instead of a PCR from 24 October 2021.
Lateral flow tests must be taken as soon as possible on the day of arrival in England or at the latest before the end of a passenger’s second day and can now be purchased from the list of private providers on GOV.UK from as little as £22 – significantly cheaper than PCR tests.
Lateral flow tests for international travel must be purchased from a private provider as NHS Test and Trace lateral flow tests cannot be used for international travel. Passengers who have already bought a PCR to use for travel do not need to buy another test as PCRs can still be used.
Passengers must take a photo of their lateral flow test and booking reference supplied by the private provider and send it back to them to verify the result. Passengers are also able to book a test which they can take on their arrival into England at testing centres located in some airports. People using PCR tests for travel will have their test reported by the company they purchase the test from.
Anyone testing positive will need to isolate and take a confirmatory PCR test, at no additional cost to the traveller, which can be genomically sequenced to help identify new variants. PCR tests can be accessed free of charge by ordering in the usual way through NHS Test and Trace – via nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119. Test providers will be expected to advise people to self-isolate and direct people towards the NHS Test and Trace booking page.
All travellers must complete their passenger locator form prior to travel, including providing a test booking reference number supplied by a testing provider.
Anyone travelling on to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man in the 10 days after arrival in England must follow the rules for testing and quarantine in those places.
Not fully vaccinated travellers
Passengers who are not fully vaccinated with an authorised vaccine returning from a non-red destination must still take a pre-departure test (antigen/PCR), a PCR test on day 2 and day 8 test and complete 10 days’ self-isolation (with the option of doing Test to Release on day 5).
The vaccine programme is building a wall of defence across the country and the booster vaccine rollout is now well underway with more than 4 million people vaccinated. It is vital that eligible people get their booster jab and their flu jab to protect themselves, their loved ones and the NHS this winter.
