The UK Government has recently announced all countries were removed from the Covid travel red list,  which became effective on Wednesday the 15th of December. 11 countries on the UK red list were removed and will now no longer need to be in managed quarantine.  Health Secretary Sajid Javid told parliament:

‘Now there is community transmission of Omicron in the UK and Omicron has spread so widely across the world the travel red list is now less effective in slowing the incursion of Omicron from abroad’ 

Those removed from the list include Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and will allow travels to the UK to be easier and more economical. 

Originally the red list was reintroduced as a precaution due to the surfacing of the Omicron variant. Currently all vaccinated passengers regardless of where they fly from and who arrive to the UK must continue to take a pre-departure Covid test within 48 hours of setting off and PCR tests within two days of their arrival. 

These measures will be reviewed again early next month from 5 January 2022. 

Brite Counsellors supports students arriving in the UK: if you have any questions about arriving as an international student or require assistance with accommodation email [email protected] or contact us here.