Red, amber and green list rules for entering England

Last updated on 17 May 2021

What you must do when you arrive in England from abroad depends on where you have been in the 10 days before you arrive.

This page lists countries and territories as either red or amber and tells you what you must do if you have been in those countries or territories.

Red list countries and territories

What you must do if you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the 10 days before you arrive in England.

If you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the last 10 days you will only be allowed to enter the UK if you are a British or Irish National, or you have residence rights in the UK.

Countries rated as red, amber or green for Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the rules you must follow to enter England. Share on X

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book a quarantine hotel package, including 2 COVID-19 tests
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

On arrival in England you must:

• quarantine in a managed hotel, including 2 COVID-19 tests

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Red list of countries and territories

Red list	Red watchlist – moves from or to green or amber list
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	Moved to the red list 4am, Wednesday 12 May. If you arrive in England after then, you need to follow the red list rules.
Mozambique
Namibia
Nepal	Moved to the red list 4am, Wednesday 12 May. If you arrive in England after then, you need to follow the red list rules.
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Rwanda
Seychelles
Somalia
South Africa
Suriname
Tanzania
Turkey	Moved to the red list 4am, Wednesday 12 May. If you arrive in England after then, you need to follow the red list rules.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Amber list countries and territories

What you must do if you have been in an amber country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England.

You should not travel to amber list countries or territories for leisure purposes.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 travel tests – to be taken after arrival in England
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

On arrival in England you must:

• quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
• take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the ‘Test to Release’ scheme.

Travel within the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man

You do not need to take a COVID-19 test or quarantine on arrival in England if you are travelling within the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, (the Common Travel Area), and you have not been outside of the Common Travel Area in the previous 10 days.

If you have been in a country or territory on the red list

If you have also been in or through a country or territory on the red list in the 10 days before you arrive in England, you must follow the red list rules.

Countries on the watchlist or moving to red

If conditions change in a country or territory, it can be moved from the amber list to the red list. If that is likely to happen, this will normally be flagged in the Amber watchlist column in the table below. If there is a sudden change in conditions, a country or territory may be moved between lists without warning.

Amber list of countries and territories

Amber list	Amber watchlist – moves from or to green or red list
Afghanistan
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Armenia
Aruba
Australia	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Austria
Azerbaijan
The Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
Bosnia and Herzegovina
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
China
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Côte d’Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus
Czech Republic (Czechia)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Falkland Islands	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Faroe Islands	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Fiji
Finland
France
French Polynesia
Gabon
The Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Greece (including islands)
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel and Jerusalem	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao
Madagascar
Malaysia
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Myanmar (Burma)
Nauru
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
The Occupied Palestinian Territories
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Poland
Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira)	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Réunion
Romania
Russia
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain (including the Balearics and Canary Islands)
Sri Lanka
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Will move from amber to green list 4am, Monday 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Martin and St Barthélemy
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Sudan
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United States (USA)
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vietnam
Wallis and Futuna
Western Sahara
Yemen

The amber list is not exhaustive. If a country or territory is not on this list, you should not assume that it is a green or red list country or territory. Countries and territories are only green or red if they appear on the green or red list.

Green list countries and territories – from 17 May

From 17 May there will be a new green list of countries and territories. Until 17 May all countries and territories outside of the Common Travel Area are either red list or amber list countries or territories. If you travel to England before 17 May you must follow the relevant amber list or red list rules.

This section tells you what you will have to do if you travel to England from a country or territory on the green list from 17 May. You must only have been in or travelled through a green list country or the Common Travel Area in the previous 10 days.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

You must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after you arrive.

You do not need to quarantine unless the test result is positive.

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

You must self-isolate if NHS Test & Trace informs you that you travelled to England with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

If you have been in a country or territory on the red or amber list

If you have also been in or through a country or territory on the red list in the 10 days before you arrive in England, you must follow the red list rules.

If you have also been in or through a country or territory on the amber list in the 10 days before you arrive in England, and have not visited a country on the red list, you must follow the amber list rules.

Countries on the watchlist or moving to amber

If conditions change in a country or territory, it can be moved from the green list to the amber or red list. If that is likely to happen, this will normally be flagged in the green watchlist column in the table below. If there is a sudden change in conditions, a country or territory may be moved between lists without warning.

Green list of countries and territories – from 17 May

Green list	Green watchlist – moves from or to amber or red list
Australia	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Brunei	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Falkland Islands	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Faroe Islands	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Gibraltar	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Iceland	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Israel and Jerusalem	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
New Zealand	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira)	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
Singapore	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Will move to green from the amber list at 4am, 17 May. If you arrive in England before then, you need to follow the amber list rules.

Transit stops in amber or red list countries

When you arrive in England you need to follow the rules for the highest risk country or territory that you have been in or passed through in the previous 10 days. That can include transit stops.

A transit stop is a stop where passengers can get on or off the same part of the transport in which you are travelling. It can apply to ships, trains or flights. Your ticket should show if a stop is a transit stop.

The rules of a country or territory that you make a transit stop in could apply if:

• new passengers get on and are able to mix with you
• you or other passengers get off the transport you are on and mix with other people, then get on again

Making a transit stop would not affect what you have to do on arrival in England if, during the stop:

• no new passengers, who are able to mix with you, get on
• no-one on-board gets off and mixes with people outside
• passengers get off but do not get back on

Private vehicles or coaches travelling through amber or red list countries and territories

If you are travelling to England in a private vehicle, the rules of the countries and territories you drive through apply. For example, if you drive through an amber list country, then you must follow the amber list rules when you arrive in England.

This applies whether you stop in the country or territory or not. You need to record the countries and territories you drive through on your passenger locator form.

Transiting through airports in England

See what you need to do if you are transiting ‘landside’ or transiting ‘airside’ through England.

Travel within the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man

You do not need to take a COVID-19 test or quarantine on arrival in England if you are travelling within the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, (the Common Travel Area), and you have not been outside of the Common Travel Area in the previous 10 days.

Job and medical exemptions

Some people are exempt from some or all of the requirements:

• because of the job they do
• for medical or compassionate reasons

Travelling abroad from England

Until 17 May, you can only travel abroad from England if you have a legally permitted reason to do so. You must complete a declaration form for international travel.

From 17 May you will not need to complete a declaration form to travel abroad.

Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status when travelling abroad

From 17 May, people in England who have had a full vaccine course (2 doses), will be able to demonstrate their COVID-19 vaccination status for outbound international travel.

Other countries or territories determine their own border health rules, which may include COVID-19 vaccination status. Check the entry requirements for your destination before travelling.