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Europe Travel for British Travelers

Pauline

Forums Admin
I keep losing track of the current travel in Europe situation for Brits, so I am making a thread about it and will keep it updated.

Updated July 28

UK LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS

Lockdown restrictions end on July 19. No more masks, no more social distancing, everything is open. However, cases of the Delta variant are rising here so caution is urged. In my area, Dorset, many businesses are requesting that you still wear a mask when in their premises and some are keeping social distancing.


UK TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

As of July 19 Brits can travel to amber and green countries and do not have to quarantine on return. You need a negative COVID test to enter England and must have a day 2 test scheduled.

From the UK government site:
Changes to international travel rules for amber list countries
From 4am, Monday 19 July, the government will no longer recommend against travel to amber list countries. People covered by the amber list rules, who have been fully vaccinated under the UK vaccination programme, will not need to quarantine on arrival in England or take a COVID-19 test on day 8.

Except FRANCE which is amber+. You must quarantine when returning from France even if you are vaccinated.


You are responsible for organising your own COVID-19 test, in line with UK government testing requirements. You should contact local authorities for information on testing facilities.

You cannot transit France!! This is a big change from last summer when we were able to drive across France without stopping and mixing with other people to avoid quarantine because we were coming from a country where quarantine was not required. This is what it says on the UK website:

From the Gov.UK website July 28, 2021: "France is on the amber list for entering England. From 19 July anyone arriving from France (including those transiting through France) to England must continue to quarantine for 10 days at home or in other accommodation, even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Check what you must do to enter England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland."


CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTRIES BY THE UK (TRAFFIC LIGHT SYSTEM)

The traffic light system determines what happens when people arrive in the UK or when UK residents return home. Most of Europe is on the amber list.
  • Travelers from Green countries can enter but need tests before and after they arrive.
  • Travelers from Amber countries must take a test before arrival, and a day 2 test after arrival and do not quarantine (except for France where quarantine on arrival is required) quarantine for 10 days in the place they are staying in the UK and take 2 tests during that time. Note that France is amber+. Even if vaccinated you must quarantine when returning from France
  • Travelers from Red countries must quarantine in a government run quarantine hotel and take various tests.
Everyone arriving in the UK has to fill out a passenger locator form.

WHICH COUNTRIES IN EUROPE WILL ALLOW UK RESIDENTS TO ENTER

France
: YES “Travellers who are fully vaccinated do not need an essential reason to travel to France and do not need to self-isolate on arrival.” You must take a test (a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of departure, or a negative antigen test result taken within 48 hours of departure) and sign a statement. This is for all travelers from the France list of amber countries. The UK is currently amber. The US, Canada and Australia are green.



Italy: YES with quarantine. June 19: Italy announces that UK visitors now have to quarantine for 5 days on arrival because of the spread of the delta variant in the UK.

YES "From 7 April, entry to Italy from the UK is no longer restricted to Italian residents and those with absolute necessity. However, COVID-19 measures continue to apply. If you wish to fly, you must present the airline with a negative COVID-19 rapid antigenic or molecular swab test taken no more than 48 hours before travel.

From 16 May until 30 July there is no longer a requirement to quarantine on arrival in Italy, unless travellers arrive without proof of a negative test. Travellers arriving without a negative test will need to self-isolate for 10 days and undertake a test at the end of the isolation period." What happens if you arrive by car?


Spain: YES "From 24 May, entry restrictions and testing requirements for arrivals from the UK to Spain no longer apply."


Switzerland: YES June 26 opens to vaccinated Americans and Brits.
NO "Travelers from the UK are not permitted entry to So Switzerland." EU and EFTA nationals are allowed. Switzerland is reviewing its entry requirements and will be announcing changes at the end of June.



LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Some countries require proof of vaccination status for entry to events, restaurants, etc. Your NHS app gets you into the country at the border but does not get you into events, etc. For that you need a paper version of your vaccination information from the NHS and the country‘s Covid app which will use the QR code on your printed letter. BUT the app reads your NHS QR Code but does not verify it because the UK has not joined the EU Digital Covid Certificate Scheme so you may not get into places. More about this in the Twitter thread below.

Get your letter here:


This long thread on Twitter gives more details.

View: https://twitter.com/jonworth/status/1420295415971319811?s=21


NEW EU TRAVEL RULES

I have written an article on the new rules for UK residents traveling to the EU:

 
Last edited:
Italy announces that UK visitors now have to quarantine for 5 days on arrival because of the spread of the delta variant in the UK. I will update the post above.
 
Switzerland opens to vaccinated Americans and Brits!!! I don’t have to cancel our August/September travel plans!

From The Local: “Switzerland on Wednesday relaxed a range of coronavirus measures due to the strong epidemiological situation and the progress made by the country's vaccination campaign.

While there was initially some confusion over the date, the government confirmed to The Local that the measures would come into effect on the 26th rather than the 28th of June.

This means that fully vaccinated travellers from countries outside the Schengen zone — including from the United States and the United Kingdom — will be able to enter Switzerland from Saturdayonwards.

In addition to travel measures, rules relating to masks, sport, restaurants and events have also been wound back. Here's the changes in detail.

Not everything is back to normal though - here are the measures that will stay in place.”
 
UK travelers to France who are vaccinated no longer need to have a COVID test for entry to the country.

From UK government site: Travellers who are fully vaccinated do not need an essential reason to travel to France and do not need to self-isolate on arrival. From 18 July, fully vaccinated adults no longer need to present evidence of a negative test result before travel.

HOWEVER, UK travelers to France must self quarantine on return to the UK even though France is on the amber list. The UK government is concerned about rising cases of the Beta variant in France. This is a recent change.
 
I just realized that you cannot transit France! Last summer we were in Italy, which was green in the UK List (no quarantine required), but had to drive home through France which was amber (required quarantine). So we drove from Italy, transited Austria (amber), spent 2 nights in Germany (which was green) on the way home, and transited France. This summer we cannot transit France.

I added this info to the main post above.

You cannot transit France!! This is a big change from last summer when we were able to drive across France without stopping and mixing with other people to avoid quarantine because we were coming from a country where quarantine was not required. This is what it says on the UK website:

From the Gov.UK website July 28, 2021: "France is on the amber list for entering England. From 19 July anyone arriving from France (including those transiting through France) to England must continue to quarantine for 10 days at home or in other accommodation, even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Check what you must do to enter England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland."

 
Although British nationals do not require a visa to visit Europe, starting in 2022, they will require an ETIAS visa waiver. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System will be used to record travellers from non-EU countries who do not require a visa.
 
Big changes for UK travelers.

The traffic light system is gone, replaced by RED and GREEN only, eliminating the Day 8 test for Amber countries.

Starting October 4 you do not need a pre-departure Covid test to enter the UK.

By the end of October the Day 2 test can be the less expensive lateral flow.

I read that Switzerland will accept the EHIC/GHIC cards, meaning Brits are covered for healthcare when travelling in Switzerland, but haven’t seen this in writing.

I will update the original post.
 

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