Quarantine-free travel corridors: All the countries on the government’s list
Buyer beware: destinations can be dropped at short notice
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Since the UK government first announced the introduction of travel corridors on 10 July, the list has evolved on a regular basis, often at short-notice, leaving many holidaymakers in the lurch.
The original list of 59 countries from where travellers could arrive into England, Wales and Northern Ireland (57 for Scotland) without undergoing two weeks of mandatory quarantine has seen some new additions but a far greater number of removals.
The first to go were Spain and Serbia following spikes in coronavirus infection rates. Next was Luxembourg, swiftly followed by Belgium, the Bahamas and Andorra.
And then came France, the Netherlands and Malta, along with Monaco, Turks & Caicos and Aruba.
Portugal was removed from the list last week, while Sweden was reinstated.
The latest destinations to be removed from the list were Slovenia and Guadeloupe – but Thailand and Singapore were both added despite existing restrictions preventing the majority of travellers entering.
To complicate matters further, the respective governments of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have implemented different rules in relation to different countries, in recent weeks.
In the Department for Transport’s words: “Countries and territories can be taken off or added to this exempt list at any time.”
The list, previously reviewed every three weeks, is now being updated weekly on Thursdays.
Decisions are based on a range of factors, but one key element seems to be the number of cases per 100,000 residents, as reported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
According to Paul Charles, travel consultant and chief executive of PR firm the PC Agency, “Anything above 20 per 100,000 for a period of seven days or more is likely to lead to that country being added to the quarantine list.”
He added: “It’s one statistic in particular that is being watched the most closely by Public Health England and the Joint Biosecurity Centre; that is the cumulative number, over 7 days, of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 of the population.”
Here’s the full list of countries those returning to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can currently travel to without having to quarantine on their return.
England
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Barbados
Bermuda
Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
The Channel Islands
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus
Denmark
Dominica
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
Gibraltar
Germany
Greece, excluding the islands of Crete, Lesvos, Mykonos, Santorini, Serifos, Tinos and Zakynthos
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
Hong Kong
Iceland
Ireland
The Isle of Man
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Macao (Macau)
Malaysia
Mauritius
Montserrat
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Norway
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Poland
Portugal (Azores and Madeira only)
San Marino
Seychelles
Singapore (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Slovakia
Slovenia (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
South Korea
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
St Barthélemy
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Pierre and Miquelon
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Taiwan
Thailand (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Turkey
Vatican City State
Vietnam
Scotland
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Barbados
Bermuda
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus, including the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the Island of Cyprus
Denmark
Dominica
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
Germany
Gibraltar
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
Hong Kong
Iceland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Macau
Malaysia
Mauritius
Montserrat
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Norway
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Poland
San Marino
Seychelles
Singapore (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Slovakia
Slovenia (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
St Barthélemy
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
St Kitts & Nevis
St Lucia
St Pierre and Miquelon
St Vincent and the Grenadines
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Korea
Sweden
Taiwan
Thailand (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Turkey
Vatican City State
Vietnam
Wales
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Azores
Barbados
Bermuda
Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
Channel Islands
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus
Denmark
Dominica
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
Germany
Gibraltar (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Greece, excluding the islands of Mykonos, Zakynthos (Zante), Lesvos, Paros and Antiparos, Santorini, Serifos, Tinos and Crete
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
Hong Kong
Iceland
Ireland
The Isle of Man
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Macao (Macau)
Madeira
Malaysia
Mauritius
Montserrat
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Norway
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Poland
San Marino
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
South Korea
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
St Barthélemy
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Pierre and Miquelon
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Taiwan
Thailand (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
Vatican City State
Vietnam
Northern Ireland
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Barbados
Bermuda
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus
Denmark
Dominica
Estonia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
Germany
Greece (excluding the islands of Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini and Zakynthos (Zante)
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
Hong Kong
Iceland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Macau
Madeira
Malaysia
Mauritius
Montserrat
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Norway
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
Poland
Portugal (Azores and Madeira only)
St Barthélemy
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Pierre and Miquelon
St Vincent and the Grenadines
San Marino
Seychelles
Singapore (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Slovakia
Slovenia (will be removed from this list at 4am on 19 September)
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Korea
Sweden
Taiwan
Thailand (will be added to this list at 4am on 19 September)
Turkey
Vatican City State
Vietnam
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments