New rules for international travellers from UK introduced

From Monday, passengers must be able to prove they are allowed to travel

International passengers from the UK will need a form to prove they are allowed to travel. Getty Images 

Passengers travelling internationally from the UK will need to carry a new form that establishes that their trip is permitted.

From Monday, passengers will need the document to prove that they are not breaking stay-at-home regulations.

The form must be downloaded from the government website, signed before travel and carried or downloaded on to a mobile phone.

Passengers face a fine of between £200 ($276) and £6,400 if they cannot produce the form. Spot checks at airports will be carried out.

Announcing the move, the Department for Transport said: “Carriers will be checking the forms have been completed before boarding, either at check-in (online or at the check-in desk) or the departure gate. Passengers who do not have a valid form may be denied access to their booked service.

“Police have been stepping up their presence at ports and airports in recent weeks. Officers will be conducting spot checks and have the power to ask travellers to produce a completed form.”

Stay-at-home rules are still in place in the UK, which means it is illegal to travel abroad without a permitted reason, such as for education or work.

For those who do travel, there is a requirement for three Covid-19 tests: one before departure, one on day two after arrival and one on day eight.

Arrivals must self-isolate for 10 days, with those coming from 33 red-list countries, including the UAE, South Africa and most of South America, required to enter hotel quarantine.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that international pupils who attend boarding schools in England will be able to isolate at school rather than at a government-approved hotel for 10 days.

Schools will have to have travel plans in place, including arrangements for the collection and transfer of pupils from the airport to the boarding areas where they will quarantine.

Children who have travelled from a red-list country must then quarantine in “physically self-contained” accommodation at the school.

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