When will travel rules be reviewed?

Holidays: Britons share concerns about international travel

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Travel has been largely off the cards since the pandemic began. Now international leisure travel is illegal until May 17 when people will be permitted to visit select locations. These locations have been chosen because they are deemed safe enough to visit given the ongoing Covid pandemic. But these designations will be regularly reviewed and the lists updated.

Hopeful holidaymakers looking to travel abroad from May 17 will be permitted to visit 12 countries quarantine-free, according to the new green travel list announced today.

The Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, revealed a total of 12 countries will allow anyone returning from abroad to avoid a 10-day quarantine period.

Speaking from Downing Street, Mr Shapps said: “Today marks the first step in our cautious return to international travel, with measures designed above all else to protect public health and ensure we don’t throw away the hard-fought gains we’ve all strived to earn this year.

“This is a new way of doing things, and people should expect travel to be different this summer – with longer checks at the borders, as part of tough measures to prevent new strains of the virus entering the country and putting our fantastic vaccine rollout at risk.”

From May 17, international travel for leisure purposes will no longer be illegal.

People are being guided on where they can safely visit with 43 countries remaining on the red list, meaning travel is restricted if you have visited one of these nations within the last 10 days, unless you are a British or Irish national or UK resident.

Strict rules on testing and quarantine will remain in place to protect public health and the UK’s vaccination efforts.

Leisure travel will gradually resume and Britons are welcome to visit green list countries from May 17.

The countries on the green list include:

Portugal
Israel
Singapore
Australia
New Zealand
Brunei
Iceland
Gibraltar
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
St Helena, Tristan de Cunha, Ascension Island.

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However, the Government also revealed leisure travel to amber and red list countries is not advised.

This means all other countries around the world, including the majority of Europe – with the exception of Portugal – is off limits.

Many holiday-starved Britons are already desperate to know when these rules will be reviewed and when more countries might be added to the green list.

One Twitter user wrote: “When is the next Government review of the travel list? Travelling to Spain in July. Please. #Travel #Spain”.

Another added: “Did they say how frequently they’d review the travel lists? Turkey’s on the red list but looking at their data, the lockdown plus vaccine drive seems to be having the desired effect on cases, just need deaths to flatten too. Should at least be Amber by August, no?”

Another wrote: “Disappointed that USA is not on the U.K. green list for travel without quarantine yet, hopefully it’ll be included in the 3 weeks review and then we will just have to wait on USA allowing us entry and then hopefully I’ll be able to plan a trip for my birthday.”