From 04:00 (UK time) on Friday 7 January 2022, fully vaccinated travellers and those under 18 will no longer need to take a pre-departure test to enter England from abroad.
On arrival, Travellers will have to take a PCR test but will no longer have to self-isolate while awaiting the result. Any required test(s) must be booked before travel to England.
From 04:00 on Sunday 9 January 2022, fully vaccinated travellers can take a lateral flow test instead of a PCR test on or before day two. The lateral flow test must be booked with a private test provider, free NHS tests are not allowed. Any required test(s) must be booked before travel to England. If the traveller takes a lateral flow test and tests positive, they will need to self-isolate and take a free confirmatory PCR test.
Unvaccinated passengers will need to continue to take a pre-departure test, PCR tests on day two and day eight, and self-isolate for 10 days.
Check if you qualify as fully vaccinated
To qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to England, you must have proof of full vaccination with a full course of an approved vaccine.
You must have had a complete course of one of the following vaccines at least 14 days before you arrive in England:
Covaxin
Moderna
Janssen (single dose vaccine)
Novavax (Nuvaxovid and Covovax) – from 4am, Monday 10 January
Oxford/AstraZeneca
Pfizer BioNTech
Sinopharm Beijing
Sinovac-CoronaVac
The day you have your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.
Formulations of these vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, also qualify as approved vaccines.
2 dose vaccines
If you were vaccinated with a 2 dose vaccine, or a combination of them, you must have had both doses to be considered fully vaccinated for travel to the UK.
