How the travel quarantine lists for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England differ

The quarantine rules are an attempt to guard against a second wave of coronavirus
PA
David Child7 September 2020

Differences in UK quarantine rules have created confusion for travellers as the devolved nations take varying approaches to international travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ministers decided this week not to impose restrictions on people entering England from Greece and Portugal, despite officials in Scotland and Wales ordering periods of isolation for those returning from both countries in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Northern Ireland also chose not to change its guidance, meaning arrivals from Greece and Portugal are still exempt from quarantine restrictions in the territory.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Friday the disparities had resulted in "confusion" for those taking trips overseas, adding that the Government decided not to make those returning from the popular holiday destinations undergo a 14-day quarantine because figures suggested cases were falling in each nation.

He told Sky News: “I do realise it creates confusion for people not to have a single rule, but we do have this devolved approach throughout the United Kingdom and I can only be responsible for the English part of that.”

With that in mind, here is what you need to know about the quarantine exemption rules:

England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have all made repeated revisions to their quarantine-exempt travel lists
Getty Images

Which European countries are exempt from the UK nations' quarantine rules?

Those arriving into England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales from a number of European countries are exempt from the two week mandatory quarantine period.

Below is a breakdown of each of the UK nations' quarantine exemption lists, excluding all non-European countries.

Are arrivals from any other nations exempt from quarantine?

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all also currently exempt those arriving from several non-European countries from undergoing a fortnight of quarantine.

The full list for England can be found here.

Scotland's list is meanwhile available here, and Wales' and Northern Ireland's are located here and here.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in