What does the EU travel announcement mean for British holidaymakers?

The EU has agreed to let fully vaccinated British holidaymakers in this summer without restrictions such as testing or quarantine.

EU ambassadors backed plans to allow travellers into the bloc if they have received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, a spokeswoman for the Portuguese presidency of the EU Council confirmed.

But will all countries comply? And will non-vaccinated travellers be allowed in? Here’s everything you need to know.

It’s likely to come into effect from 1 June.

Although the measure has been supported by ambassadors, individual countries are still able to make their own decisions about whether they want to accept British travellers, and the policy will need to be signed off by member states.

Individual countries are at liberty to impose their own requirements, such as testing or quarantine, or scrap these entirely earlier than the 1 June deadline.

For example, Greece is already letting British travellers forgo testing if they present proof of full vaccination. Spain, meanwhile, has proposed that Brits won’t need to test or quarantine this summer, regardless of vaccination status.

As of 17 May, the NHS app contains a record of an individual’s vaccination status. This will be accepted by the EU as a “vaccine passport” for travellers. Bear in mind, you will need to wait two weeks after your second jab to be eligible.

Meanwhile, a new scheme that will allow Scots to prove they have been vaccinated against coronavirus before travelling abroad has been launched by the Scottish government.

Those who have been vaccinated can download a letter from the NHS Inform patient website, or request a letter from the Covid Status Helpline if they are not online.

They should still be allowed to enter EU countries, although in most cases they’ll likely be asked to provide either a negative Covid test result prior to travel – and countries have different stipulations about which types of test are admissible – or proof of having recovered from a Covid infection in the previous 90 days.

As present, your vaccination status has no bearing on the rules you must follow when travelling back to the UK.

These requirements are based on whether the country you’ve visited has been classified as green, amber or red by the British government.

All travellers must present a negative Covid test result in order to travel to the UK. Those from green countries must also take a PCR test within two days of arrival into the UK, but have no need to quarantine.

Amber arrivals must quarantine for 10 days at home and have already pre-booked a PCR testing package for days two and eight of self-isolation (although travellers in England have the option to pay for an extra PCR test on day five to end quarantine early).

Red arrivals must have pre-booked an 11-night package at a designated quarantine hotel. The package costs £1,750 for a solo traveller, and includes an airport transfer, full board and two PCR tests to be taken on days two and eight.