Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic update 

International travel continues to be impacted due to COVID-19, and the number of variant strains which have emerged globally. Guidance on international travel is available for people living in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Since 11 February 2022, the rules for international travellers arriving in the UK have changed. In Scotland, travellers who are fully vaccinated no longer need to take a COVID-19 test within two days of arrival in the UK, but still must complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) in the 48 hours before travelling. Summaries are available detailing the changes for travellers arriving into Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Country specific COVID-19 risk

Country pages on the fitfortravel (for the general public) and TRAVAX (for health professionals) websites include a COVID-19 country specific risk-rating, which identifies the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for UK travellers. This information is listed in the Alerts section on each individual fitfortravel country page and the Emerging Health Risks section of each individual TRAVAX country page. This risk-rating identifies each country as having either:

• a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 for UK travellers, or   
• a risk of exposure to COVID-19 for UK travellers

For all countries, travellers should be aware that the risk of COVID-19 may change at short notice. Countries categorised as high-risk either have a greater risk of travellers being exposed to COVID-19, or an increased risk of emerging, or known variants, of coronavirus. Travellers should be advised to avoid non-essential travel to high-risk countries, even if fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Advice for travellers

Prior to booking any international travel, travellers must first check if the country they are travelling to is currently accepting UK travellers.

• The FCDO foreign travel advice country pages have up-to-date information on entry rules, in response to coronavirus (COVID-19), under the Entry Requirements section.  
• Travellers should be aware that some countries or territories may require proof of COVID-19 vaccination status for entry. Guidance for demonstrating COVID-19 vaccination status is available for those living in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It is advised that travellers are aware of all travel restrictions, self-isolation rules and precautions they should take, in order to reduce their risk of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) before, during and after travel, as detailed on the fitfortravel COVID-19 health considerations for travel page.

Source: TRAVAX, February 2022