COVID-19 TESTING

Last Update: 6 January 2022

From 4am, Tuesday 7 December all people aged 12 years and over must take a PCR or LFD COVID-19 test before they travel to England from abroad. You must take the test within the 2 days before you travel to England. This will apply whether you qualify as fully vaccinated or not. All travellers returning to the UK will also need to take a COVID-19 PCR test by the end of day 2 of arrival and will be required to self-isolate until they receive a negative result, regardless of their vaccination status. The latest UK government information can be found here.

In order to support Cox & Kings clients with potential testing requirements, you will find details and links of government approved testing centres below for UK based travellers. This should not be considered a recommendation by Cox & Kings and it is the responsibility of the client to check that the host country accepts tests from the testing centre used and that the client meets all the entry requirements of the host country prior to departure. Cox & Kings is not liable for a client being refused entry to the host country for any reason.  

Clients should also check very carefully the length of time taken to receive testing kits (if receiving home testing kits), the length of time to return tests and the length of time before results are received. This is particularly important in relation to the specified time period in which tests must be done for travel to certain jurisdictions. 

COVID-19 testing requirements

From 4am, Friday 7 January if you qualify as fully vaccinated for travel to England, you do not need to take a COVID-19 test before you travel to England or quarantine when you arrive in England. Additionally from Sunday 9 January, if you qualify as fully vaccinated for travel to England, you can choose to take a lateral flow test instead of a PCR test after you arrive in England.

If you take a lateral flow test and test positive, you will need to self-isolate and take a free confirmatory PCR test. You must book the test before you travel to England. Full details can be found here.

If you are flying with British Airways, they offer a range of information on testing and details about their entry requirements on their App. Full details can be found here.

Full details of government approved coronavirus testing providers can be found here.

 

Test to release

This now only applies if you are not fully vaccinated and travelling from the rest of the world. You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test. Details can be found here

Please note: This scheme currently only applies to passengers arriving into England. Rules for those arriving into Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland may differ, please refer to the below for further information:

Scotland 

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-public-health-checks-at-borders/pages/overview/ 

Wales 

https://gov.wales/exemptions-self-isolation-coronavirus-covid-19-html 

Northern Ireland 

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-international-travel-advice 

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