UK Travel Update: The Balearic Islands Bumped to the Amber List

Visas, Immigration & Nationality

UK Travel Update: The Balearic Islands Bumped to the Amber List

A handful of holiday destinations are shuffled around the UK travel list depending on the COVID risks associated with travelling to and from them.

Less than a month since the Balearic Islands were deemed fit for quarantine-free travel, the islands are returning to the UK's amber list from COVID.

This means British nationals travelling from Ibiza, Majorca or Menorca to England will have to self-isolate for 10 days unless they have received both doses of the vaccines from the NHS or they are under 18. The move comes less than a fortnight after the Balearic Islands were added to the green list and is in response to a rapid rise in cases. 

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told reporters that the government had to “move quickly,” as the cases have doubled on the islands.

It is believed that the uptick in cases is related to end-of-term parties being held in the Balearics.

The change has been announced by Shapps on Twitter:

No Quarantine for the Vaccinated from Amber Countries

Britain has one of the fastest vaccination programmes in the world but so far the government has effectively prevented travel to most countries through quarantine and testing rules.

From 19 July, the UK will implement the new quarantine rule for the vaccinated holidaymakers. This will allow fully vaccinated individuals to travel without quarantine upon return to all countries except those on the red list. This means anyone coming from Ibiza, Majorca or Menorca can skip quarantine if they have been vaccinated and can prove it using the NHS app.

However, as the Balearic Islands will be moved to the amber list, young adults who have not been vaccinated will have to quarantine at home for 10 days upon return.

The islands are hugely popular with young British tourists and this is a major blow to young adults who are looking forward to summer relaxation.

Updated Amber List from 19th July 

All travellers from amber list countries will need to present a negative COVID test, book a COVID test prior to arrival and complete a passenger locator form.

Vaccinated travellers will need to take a COVID test on day 2. Travellers not fully vaccinated or unvaccinated need to quarantine on arrival and take both the day 2 and day 8 COVID test.

From 19 July, the following countries will be on the amber list:

Akrotiri and DhekeliaFijiLuxembourgSan Marino
AlbaniaFinlandMacaoSao Tome and Principe
AlgeriaFranceMadagascarSaudi Arabia
AndorraFrench PolynesiaMalaysiaSenegal
ArmeniaGabonMaliSerbia
ArubaThe GambiaMarshall IslandsSlovakia
AustriaGeorgiaMartiniqueSlovenia
AzerbaijanGermanyMauritaniaSolomon Islands
The BahamasGhanaMauritiusSouth Korea
BelarusGreece (including islands)MayotteSouth Sudan
BelgiumGreenlandMexicoSt Kitts and Nevis
BelizeGuadeloupeMicronesiaSt Lucia
BeninGuatemalaMoldovaSt Maarten
BhutanGuineaMonacoSt Martin and St Barthélemy
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaGuinea-BissauMontenegroSt Pierre and Miquelon
Bosnia and HerzegovinaHondurasMoroccoSt Vincent and the Grenadines
Burkina FasoHungaryNauruSweden
CambodiaIranNetherlandsSwitzerland
CameroonIraqNew CaledoniaSyria
CanadaItalyNicaraguaTajikistan
Central African RepublicJamaicaNigerThailand
ChadJapanNigeriaTimor-Leste
ChinaJordanNorth KoreaTogo
ComorosKazakhstanNorth MacedoniaTonga
CongoKiribatiNorwayTurkmenistan
Cook Islands, Tokelau and NiueKosovoThe Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesTuvalu
Côte d’IvoireKuwaitPalauUkraine
CuraçaoKyrgyzstanPapua New GuineaUnited States (USA)
CyprusLaosPolandUzbekistan
Czech Republic (Czechia)LatviaPortugal (including the Azores)Vanuatu
DenmarkLebanonRéunionVietnam
DjiboutiLiberiaRomaniaWallis and Futuna
El SalvadorLibyaRussiaWestern Sahara
Equatorial GuineaLiechtensteinSamoaYemen
EstoniaLithuania

What are your thoughts on this rule change? Talk to us in the comment section below.

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