The United Kingdom has reportedly exempted fully vaccinated Indian travelers from the 10-day hotel quarantine, as it moved the country to its ‘amber’ list from the previous ‘red’ allocation.

For those unaware, England’s traffic light system for international travel states that passengers returning from amber list countries are required to perform a 10-day at-home quarantine.

As per legal requirements for nations on the amber list, passengers need to take a COVID test three days before departure, book two tests in advance, to be taken on arrival in England, and also fill a passenger locator form.

Travelers will then be required to quarantine for 10 days at home or at a place they have confirmed as their location while taking COVID-19 tests on or before day two and day eight.

Countries including Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain will also be moved to the amber category. These new changes announced by the Department for Transport will be effective from 4 am local time on 8th August.

The Transport Secretary of the U.K. stated that the nation will continue its cautious approach but will also focus on making destinations available for people wanting to connect with businesses, families, and friends across the globe while taking advantage of its highly efficient domestic vaccination program.

The decision was very well received among the Indians in the U.K., who had been insisting on the lifting of travel bans for a while.

It is worth noting that individuals under-18 years of age, and those fully vaccinated in the U.K., EU, or the U.S. will not be subject to home quarantine.

Meanwhile, the travel list update also included an announcement revealing that the prices for quarantine hotels for solo passengers from countries on the red list will go up from USD 2428 to USD 3170 from 12th August.

On the bright side, the U.K.’s green watchlist, which provides information on countries whose green status is at risk of change has been consistently stable with 16 countries on the list.

Source Credits –

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/covid-19-travel-curbs-united-kingdom-moves-india-from-red-to-amber-list-7279311.html