A traveller enters a testing centre at Heathrow Airport. Getty.
A traveller enters a testing centre at Heathrow Airport. Getty.
A traveller enters a testing centre at Heathrow Airport. Getty.
A traveller enters a testing centre at Heathrow Airport. Getty.

Hotel quarantine: What do you need to do if travelling from a red list country?


Simon Rushton
  • English
  • Arabic

England has introduced a traffic-light system for international travel, with countries posing the lowest risk for the spread of Covid-19 appearing on the relatively hassle-free green list.

Another 43 countries are on the red list, which involves the most severe restrictions, including a legal requirement to quarantine on arrival.

What do I need to do before travelling to England from a red country?

One of the first things you must do is book your quarantine hotel.

You also need to book two Covid tests that you will take while in quarantine.

At some point in the three days before travelling, you must take a Covid test and receive a negative result.
Once you have the tests and hotel booked, you must also complete a passenger travel form, which, among other details, includes your travel plans.

What is hotel quarantine?

The strict hotel quarantine is for people who have travelled from or passed through a country on the red list in the 10 days before arriving in England.
If you're a British or Irish national or a third-country national with residence rights in the UK and you have been in or passed through a red-list country in the 10 days before your arrival, you will need to quarantine in a hotel.

  • A man holds a sign against a window at the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel reading "HM Prison Heathrow". Getty Images
    A man holds a sign against a window at the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel reading "HM Prison Heathrow". Getty Images
  • Wagner and Elaine Araujo were finally able to leave quarantine after days in a hotel. The National.
    Wagner and Elaine Araujo were finally able to leave quarantine after days in a hotel. The National.
  • Wagner Araujo and his wife Elaine pose for the press as they leave the Radisson Blu hotel after completing their quarantine period. Getty Images
    Wagner Araujo and his wife Elaine pose for the press as they leave the Radisson Blu hotel after completing their quarantine period. Getty Images
  • “It’s been like a second honeymoon,” said Mr Araujo. Getty Images
    “It’s been like a second honeymoon,” said Mr Araujo. Getty Images
  • Travellers leave the Radisson Blu hotel after completing their quarantine period. Getty Images
    Travellers leave the Radisson Blu hotel after completing their quarantine period. Getty Images
  • People wait to board a coach after finishing quarantine. Reuters
    People wait to board a coach after finishing quarantine. Reuters
  • A woman and a child walk during a daily excercise outside the Radisson Blu Hotel. Reuters
    A woman and a child walk during a daily excercise outside the Radisson Blu Hotel. Reuters
  • Guests leave the Radisson Blu Hotel at Heathrow Airport after finishing quarantine. Reuters
    Guests leave the Radisson Blu Hotel at Heathrow Airport after finishing quarantine. Reuters
  • A woman looks out from a window at the Radisson Blu, as Britain continues a hotel quarantine programme for arrivals from a 'red list' of countries. Reuters
    A woman looks out from a window at the Radisson Blu, as Britain continues a hotel quarantine programme for arrivals from a 'red list' of countries. Reuters
  • A man exercises in the car park of the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel. Reuters
    A man exercises in the car park of the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel. Reuters
  • People gesture from a window at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Reuters
    People gesture from a window at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Reuters
  • A woman quarantining at the Radisson Blu Hotel looks out of her room's window. Reuters
    A woman quarantining at the Radisson Blu Hotel looks out of her room's window. Reuters

There are some exemptions for jobs and emergencies.

The day of arrival in England will be treated as day zero.

How much does it cost?

For the full 10 days in the quarantine hotel, the cost is £1,750 for adults, £650 for children over 11 and £325 for children between the ages of five and 11.

Where can you arrive?

Other ports may be added, but for now, travellers can arrive to Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport, London City Airport, Birmingham Airport, Bristol Airport and Farnborough Airport.

What can you do and not do in a quarantine hotel?

The hotel will provide your meals. Most visitors are banned except for emergencies or if the visitor is a caregiver.
You should bring prescription medicines with you as you may not be allowed to leave to have prescriptions refilled.

You will only be allowed to leave your room in limited circumstances, which include emergencies and court appearances.

It is not possible to select a particular room at a hotel or to seek a higher-standard room.

You can quarantine with the people you travelled with and hotels will prioritise allocating larger or connecting rooms to families.

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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UAE and Russia in numbers

UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years

Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018

More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE

Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE

The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


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