What happens if I return to the UK 10 days after being in a country recently put on the red list?

Q I have a client who was recently in Mexico for 10 days. This was before Mexico went on to the UK red list, but I gather it still has an impact. He left Cancun on 5 August and arrived in the European Union on 6 August. He is due to travel to UK 10 days later on 16 August.

Is that OK or does he need to arrive a day later? The details seem so vague.

Kokeshi AC, via the latest Ask Me Anything at independent.co.uk/travel

A “To stop the spread of potentially harmful variants into the UK,” the government says, “stricter measures are in place for people who have been in a red list country in the 10 days before they arrive.” The exact test is: on any of the 10 days preceding the day of arrival into the UK, has the traveller been in a country that is currently on the red list? If so, on arrival in the UK they face mandatory hotel quarantine for 11 nights at a cost of £2,285 (£207 per night).

From your client’s perspective, the rules may seem grossly unfair. Like thousands of other British travellers, he was in Mexico at a time when it was on the amber list but left before it became red on 8 August. But while vaccinated holidaymakers who made it back to the UK ahead of the 4am deadline last Sunday were able to go home without self-isolation, anyone who stopped off along the way faces with the harshest form of quarantine.

However, it looks as though your client will avoid that prospect. Even though he did not arrive in the EU until 6 August, he left Mexico to Europe on 5 August (most eastbound transatlantic flights are overnight, giving a bit of extra leeway).

In this case, on 16 August he will be able to say he has spent the previous 10 days (6-15 August inclusive) outside a red list country. The one possible technicality that I cannot assess fully from the government’s online information: if his flight left Cancun after 7pm on 5 August, that would already be 6 August in British Summer Time. To be absolutely certain of avoiding hotel quarantine, if it was a later flight it would be wise to add an extra day and return on 17 August.

open image in gallery

Q My timing isn’t great. I am due to fly to the Greek island of Zante on 24 August; you have said the next travel review takes place on 25 August. I know that cases in Greece have risen over the last few days. I don’t want to change my holiday. However, the thought of the country moving from the amber list to the red list, and having to rush straight home, fills me with dread. Is this a low chance?

Stuart 1974

A Such have been the surprising and unpredictable decisions on travel restrictions that I cannot rule out the possibility completely. But I would happily set off with you to Zante on 24 August and expect to enjoy a full week or two without disturbance.

Raw coronavirus infection rates in Greece have been lower than the UK’s for the past two months. Although the gap is narrowing, with a 29 per cent rise in the seven-day new infection rate in Greece over the past week, the UK’s rate is still 50 per cent higher. Some of the islands – Santorini and Mykonos at the start of the month, Crete currently – have seen very high levels, but these tend to take hold quickly and subside fast.

I would be very surprised if Greece’s infection rates put the country on the red list. In terms of the other main criterion, variants of concern, the data analyst Tim White has just reported what he calls “very good news for tourists heading for Greece”. The Beta variant, which put France on the temporary “amber plus” list with mandatory self-isolation for all arrivals, has declined sharply over the past week.

Add to that my prediction that the UK’s hotel quarantine system cannot possibly cope with large numbers of people coming back from Greece, Spain, Portugal or France, and I hope you will share my optimism. There is a non-zero possibility that “amber plus” could be reincarnated but I’d say it’s very unlikely. I might see you in Zante, and promise you a Mythos beer if I do.

open image in gallery

Q Can you please explain the “180 days” rule for EU countries after Brexit? If I have stayed for 90 days in Spain, for example, when am I legally allowed to enter the EU again? Do I have to wait for the 180 days to “refresh”?

Lucy S

A Nothing would give me greater pleasure; at least it’s not a question about Covid testing. But explaining this intricate restriction that the UK has chosen to accept is tricky.

The relevant European Union law says that British nationals “are exempt from the requirement to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the member states for stays of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period”.

Effectively, in any six-month spell you can spend only three months in the EU. The simplest example: if you spend January, February and March in the zone you won’t be allowed back into the Schengen Area until late June. Then the clock starts again, so you could head back into Europe: while you are increasing your count, you are also shedding the initial stay. But once you reach 90 days again, in late September, you must leave the EU until Boxing Day.

Most travellers do not organise their time in such clearly defined chunks. If you’re coming and going, you need to keep a score of which days you are in the European Union – whether on holiday or on business – to ensure you comply.

Note that you can’t “borrow” from later in the year: the 180-day spell is updated every day, and you must keep to 90 days or fewer. Suppose you arrive in Spain for a long winter break with zero days on your record on 2 October, you will need to clear off on 31 December and cannot return until April.

There are some ruffles that may hinder or help. Stays in Schengen area nations that do not belong to the EU – Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and plucky Liechtenstein – are included. But Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are not in the Schengen Area and have different rules. Any time you spend in Croatia, for example, will not count towards your total days allowed. And UK citizens can spend limitless time in the republic of Ireland.

open image in gallery

Q On 26 October I am travelling on British Airways to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for two weeks. After hearing your views about “laundering” red list status, I am considering changing the return flight to Madrid to avoid mandatory hotel quarantine because the Dom Rep is on the red list.

For how long would I need to stay in Madrid (I am thinking 72 hours)? And would I need a test on arrival and departure if only going for this period of time?

M V-W, via the latest Ask Me Anything at independent.co.uk

A The Dominican Republic, along with Cuba and Mexico, is on the UK’s red list – requiring 11 nights of hotel quarantine for arrivals from those countries (and many others). It is an expensive – increasing tomorrow to £3,715 for a couple – and onerous experience.

Happily there is a much cheaper and more enjoyable alternative: using a “quarantine laundrette”. This is entirely legal and responsible. It involves going to a third country either on the green list or (if you are fully vaccinated) the amber list. Spend a full 10 days there – not, I am afraid, just 72 hours – and you need not quarantine on arrival in the UK. You will, though, still need to take a test before departure to the UK and after arrival. However, Spain is unlikely to demand a test for arrivals from the Dominican Republic if you have been fully vaccinated.

Having said all that, I think there is very little chance that your British Airways flight to Punta Cana will take off if the Dominican Republic remains on the red list. BA has already cancelled departures on the route until 3 October. If hotel quarantine remains mandatory, demand for flights will be negligible and I expect the airline will cancel your trip.

While British Airways would still be obliged to find alternative flights under European air passengers’ rights rules, they would undoubtedly be less convenient than the nine-hour nonstop from Gatwick to Punta Cana. In your position I would be working on the basis that if the Dominican Republic is taken off the red list at the end of August, your trip is likely to go ahead; but if it is not, then I suggest you accept the almost inevitable cancellation with a full refund.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder