The UK green list for foreign travel has been announced.

16 May The UK green list for foreign travel has been announced.

The UK green list for foreign holidays has been announced and will commence from 17 May, but arranging that long-awaited holiday is still going to be tricky.

Here’s what you need to know.

If you are planning a trip you will need to know where your destination sits in the UK traffic light system and whether the country you wish to visit is accepting visitors.

From Monday the 17th of May 2021, overseas travel is allowed for people who live in England, Scotland and Wales, it is no longer deemed illegal and there is no £5,000 fine to pay.

With that said, if you are thinking of travelling then you need to check everything before you depart as things could be subject to change. Welsh citizens are being advised to go abroad only for “essential” reasons in 2021. Northern Ireland is yet to announce a relaxation of international travel rules.

A traffic light system will divide destinations into three categories – green, amber and red.

What does the green list mean?

Travelling to those countries that come under the green list will involve fewer rules and there’s no requirement to quarantine when travellers return.

There are 12 countries currently on the green list that travellers are allowed to visit without quarantining.

They are as follows;

The 12 countries and territories on the green list are:

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

The list will be reviewed every three weeks with updates and guidance. Countries can also be added or removed at short notice too.

Not all green list destinations are open for tourism and holidaymakers have been advised by the UK government that it is their responsibility to check this before they travel.

Here are the rules for visiting a green country.

Before you travel back to England you must:

take a Covid-19 test and have proof of a negative result
book and pay for a test for day two after your return
complete a passenger locator form

There is no need to quarantine after returning unless your day two test is positive, or NHS Test & Trace informs you that you travelled with someone who has tested positive.

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

There are similar rules for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.