Understanding England’s Covid Travel Traffic Light System

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As had been expected, the UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that England will be introducing a “traffic light” system from 17 May which will dictate what COVID tests travelers arriving from different counties will require when visiting England and what, if any, isolation measures they’ll be expected to take. As this system will affect travelers wishing to visit England and well as residents of England wishing to vacation abroad, I thought that I’d take a closer look at how this system will operate.

England’s Traffic Light Travel System

Note: This system applies to travel to /from England only. The devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland will be setting their own rules and as we’re already seeing in Scotland, the rules for the devolved regions may differ.

The British government says that it has used four separate measures to assess all the countries and territories of the world for the risk they present in the fight against COVID-19 and based on how well or badly each country/territory has done in the assessment process, they have been placed on one of three lists – Green, Amber, or Red.

Travelers arriving from Green List countries/territories will need to pass a COVID-19 test (PCR or Lateral Flow) before they embark on their journey (taken no more than 72 hours before departure) and will also be required to take and pass a PCR Test on or before day 2 following their arrival in England. No self-isolation will be required for travelers arriving from countries/territories on the Green List.

Travelers arriving from Amber List countries/territories will need to pass a COVID-19 test (PCR or Lateral Flow) before they embark on their journey (taken no more than 72 hours before departure) and will also be required to self-isolate at home or at their hotel for up to 10 days upon their arrival in England.

Travelers from Amber List countries/territories will have to take and pass a PCR Test on or before day 2 following their arrival in England as well as a second PCR test on day 8. Arrivals from Amber list countries/territories have the option of taking an additional PCR test on day 5 (under England’s “test to release” scheme) which, if negative, would allow them to exit self-isolation early but which would not get them out of having to take the mandatory test on day 8.

The UK government has said that residents of England should not travel to amber list countries or territories for leisure purposes.

Travelers arriving from Red List countries/territories will need to pass a COVID-19 test (PCR or Lateral Flow) before they embark on their journey (taken no more than 72 hours before departure) and will also be required to quarantine at a hotel of the government’s choosing for a minimum of 10 days at their own expense upon their arrival in England.

Travelers from Red List counties/territories will have to take and pass a PCR Test on or before day 2 following their arrival in England as well as a second PCR test on day 8. There is no option to “test to release” for arrivals from Red List countries.

Unsurprisingly, the UK government has said that residents of England should not travel to amber list countries or territories for leisure purposes.

Full details of the new rules can be found on this UK Government webpage.

England’s Green, Amber, & Red Lists

The details below are correct as of 10 May 2021.

Green List Countries/Territories

• Australia
• Brunei
• The Falkland Islands
• The Faroe Islands
• Gibraltar
• Iceland
• Israel and Jerusalem
• New Zealand
• Portugal (includes the Azores and Madeira)
• Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
• Singapore
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Red List Countries/Territories

• Angola
• Argentina
• Bangladesh
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Burundi
• Cape Verde
• Chile
• Colombia
• Congo (Democratic Republic)
• Ecuador
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• India
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Maldives*
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nepal*
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Rwanda
• Seychelles
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Suriname
• Tanzania
• Turkey*
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

*These countries will be joining the Red List from 04:00 BST on 12 May.

Amber List Countries/Territories

Any country/territory that doesn’t appear on either the Green List or the Red list is automatically considered to be on the Amber List.

List Reviews

The UK Government says that these lists will be reviewed at least every 3 weeks but that countries and territories may be added to the Red List with very little notice should their circumstances change.

One Big Misconception

Reading the online comments following the announcement of the three lists last Friday revealed that a significant number of people didn’t appear to understand what the lists represented. Specifically, a lot of people in England seemed to think that the Green List was a list of counties/territories to which they could go on vacation and that by placing the rest of the world’s counties/territories on either the Amber or Red lists, the UK government was denying them access to those countries.

That’s not how these lists work.

If you’re living in England, the fact that the British government has divided up the counties and territories of the world into three separate lists is only one-half of the equation. What you will also have to take into consideration are the entry requirements set out by whatever country or territory you wish to visit – if those counties or territories aren’t currently allowing visitors from England to enter, the UK government’s view/designation of those countries/territories doesn’t really matter.

In fact, as things stand none of the counties on the UK’s Green List are currently accepting visitors from the UK (although Portugal is expected to allow visitors from the UK to enter from next month) so while the UK Government may be indicating that it’s “safe” to visit those countries, that doesn’t mean that residents of England can travel there freely.

To put all of that in a little context, the UK Government could say that the United States is on its Green List starting tomorrow but that wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference to most people living in England. Until the Biden administration says that it’s happy to accept non-resident/non-citizen arrivals from the UK, most people living in England will not be vacationing stateside.

Bottom Line

Starting from 17 May England will be operating a “traffic light system” for travelers arriving into the country from overseas. As things stand, most of the countries and territories of the world are either on England’s Amber or Red lists which means that self-isolation or hotel quarantine will still be required for the overwhelming majority of people visiting England or returning to England after a trip abroad. The lists will be reviewed at least every three weeks but based on what we’ve been hearing various government ministers saying, I wouldn’t expect any major positive changes to the lists in the first or even second reviews.