We can’t wait to visit our holiday homes and the new traffic light system should open up foreign travel by late spring or early summer. But do you understand the new system and the costs involved? We’ve put together a handy guide so you can visit your holiday homes and stay safe this summer. If you would like any assistance or have questions about booking a viewing trip to see your mobile home, please get in touch on UK Freephone 0800 644 4546 or email sales@caravansinthesun.com
UK Covid Passports
British travellers are to be given the green light by the EU to use vaccine passports to enter Europe. EU ambassadors will meet on Wednesday and are expected to sign off on a plan that will allow those who are fully vaccinated to fly to Europe from the UK without having to have a Covid test or quarantine, the Telegraph reports.
How will the traffic light system work?
Countries will be divided into three categories – red, amber and green. There’s also a green watchlist so travellers will have advanced warning if a green country is at risk of going amber.
Green countries
The good news is that travellers from green countries won’t have to take a pre-departure test in that country. However, they will have to take a PCR test on, or before, the second day of arriving in the UK. That test costs £120.
Travellers won’t need to quarantine unless they test positive but they must pre-book and pay for a test package before travelling.
Amber countries
People travelling to amber countries must pre-book and pay for a PCR test before travelling. But there are a number of differences:
– Travellers will take a pre-departure test and then a PCR test between days two and eight
– People will have to quarantine for 10 days at home
– There will be a ‘test to release’ option, which means buying another PCR test on day five and testing negative
Red countries
The important difference for travellers arriving from red countries is that they must quarantine for 10 days in a specified hotel on arrival. Each person will pay £1,750.
Green watchlist
The government say they’ll closely monitor the situation and won’t hesitate to act if risks change. This should give travellers some forewarning if their destination country goes from green to amber.
The list will be decided based on a number of factors, including vaccine rates, infection rates and the number of variants.
The restrictions are due to be reviewed on 28 June to see whether rules can be relaxed, with follow-up reviews in July and October.
What could change?
The government are looking into making foreign travel as affordable as possible, which could mean eliminating the need for more expensive PCR tests in favour of free lateral flow testing. Passengers could be given a pack of free rapid tests to take before they leave the country and on their return.
The Department for Transport is also looking into a digital travel certification system or Covid passport to simplify both inbound and outbound travel further.
Don’t forget your form
Finally, locator forms are due to be digitised by autumn 2021. You’ll need to provide:
– Travel details
– UK address
– Passport details
– COVID test booking reference numbers
– Quarantine hotel invoice (if required)
Speak to our team today for more information on UK Freephone 0800 644 4546
