Travel rules and regulations in the UK changed significantly from 04.00 on Monday 4 October.
In an effort to simplify travel rules, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced last month that the current travel traffic light system would be replaced by one red list and a “rest of the world” (ROW) list.
Countries considered to have the highest risk in terms of infection rates will remain on the red list, with arrivals from these countries to the UK still needing to fork out for a stay in a government-approved quarantine hotel.
While double-jabbed travellers journeying back to the UK from non-red list countries will no longer have to carry out a pre-departure (or “test to fly”) Covid test, they will still be required to book a PCR day two test to take within the two days after arrival. To complicate things further, PCR tests are set to be phased out by the end of October, which will allow travellers to book a cheaper lateral flow test for the day two.
If you haven’t had both doses of the vaccine, however, you will be required to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival in England and take two PCR tests on days two and eight (with the option to “Test to Release” on day five) – whether you’re arriving from a red list country or not. This is a change from previous rules, where unvaccinated travellers returning to the UK from green list countries were not required to home quarantine – now they will need to.
But which countries are on the hallowed “rest of world” list? Here’s all the information you need to know.
Which countries are on the “rest of the world” list?
All countries that were previously categorised as green or amber now comprise the “rest of the world” list.
With 54 countries currently on the red list, including Thailand, Mexico, Tunisia, Cape Verde and Cuba, it’s safe to assume that anything falling outside of this can be found on the “rest of the world” list.
In Europe, this includes firm favourites such as Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece (including islands), Italy, Malta and Spain (including the Canary and Balearic Islands).
Further afield, Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, St Lucia and the USA are also included on the list.
Eight countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, the Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Turkey – were removed from the red list on 22 September, making them new additions to the “rest of the world” list.
Can I travel to all countries on the “rest of the world” list?
No. Many of the countries on the list are closed to British arrivals or have restrictive quarantine rules in place.
New Zealand’s borders remain closed, for example, while Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore all remain out-of-bounds for UK holidaymakers.
Across the Pacific, however, Canada announced in September that it would be reopening to fully-vaccinated travellers.
The US is also set to follow suit, with double-jabbed travellers set to be allowed entry from “early November”, although an exact date has yet to be confirmed.
Will the lists be updated as before?
Revisions to both the red and “rest of world” lists should continue to be announced every three weeks, with the next review expected on or around 7 October, although changes could happen more rapidly if the Covid situation in a country changes dramatically.
There is usually a grace period of around four days between such an announcement and changes being implemented, prompting a scramble for flights back to the UK.
