UK Again Loosens Travel Restrictions For Vaccinated Visitors

Starting Friday, the United Kingdom (U.K.) is once again scaling back its restrictions on international travel, having narrowed its entry requirements in late November as the Omicron variant infiltrated the globe.

The British government announced Wednesday that fully vaccinated foreign visitors will no longer be required to get PCR-tested prior to departing for the U.K., nor will they need to quarantine upon arrival, from 4:00 a.m. on January 7.

Instead, vaccinated travelers will have the option of taking cheaper and easier lateral flow tests (a type of rapid test) after they’ve arrived in the country, but they’ll still need to schedule and pay for the test prior to travel. The test can be taken at any point within the first two days of their stay in the U.K., with the day of arrival constituting Day 0.

Those who aren’t fully vaccinated must continue to abide by the current set of rules, which requires a pre-travel test taken within two days of departure, and PCR tests to be taken on Days 2 and 8 of a visitor’s stay (which must be booked and paid for in advance of travel to the U.K.).

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained the rationale behind Friday’s policy change during an address to the House of Commons on Wednesday. “Our balanced approach also means that, where specific measures are no longer serving their purpose, they will be dropped,” he said. “So, when the Omicron variant was first identified, we rightly introduced travel restrictions to slow its arrival in our country. But, now Omicron is so prevalent, these measures are having limited impact on the growth in cases while continuing to pose significant costs to our travel industry.”

He added that pre-departure testing was believed to be deterring international travelers from taking trips to the U.K., “for fear of being trapped overseas and incurring significant extra expense,” Travel + Leisure reported. This could be the case among U.S. travelers, given that the U.S. State Department last week warned Americans going abroad that they “should make contingency plans, as they may have to remain in a foreign country longer than originally planned, which will be at their own expense.”

The Department’s advice was issued amid massive air travel disruptions that accompanied the end-of-year holidays and New Year’s travel period. The rising COVID-19 infection rates around the world, driven by the ultra-contagious Omicron variant, may also prompt global nations to alter their border policies at any time—another factor that could potentially leave travelers stranded far from home.

The U.K. is among those that have seen a surge in cases stemming from Omicron, with government data showing nearly 180,000 new cases on Thursday, and a week-over-week average increase of almost 30 percent. However, much of the U.K.’s population is fully vaccinated, with over 82 percent of residents 12 and older having received their first two jabs, and just over 60 percent having gotten a booster or third dose.