The new regulations will open up travel to 140 amber list countries, including Portugal, Spain and Greece, though some countries still require UK travelers to quarantine on their end and may require significant paperwork or negative tests.

The government has today (8 July 2021) set out the details to enable people who have been fully vaccinated with an NHS administered vaccine, plus 14 days, to travel to amber list countries without having to quarantine on their return to England. The recommendation for people not to travel to amber list countries will also be removed from 19 July.

People returning to the UK from an amber list country will still need to complete a passenger locator form, which will include the requirement to declare vaccination status and provide proof of their pre-departure test.
Amber arrivals will be required to prove their full vaccination status to airlines before departing, either via the NHS app or via an NHS COVID Pass letter which can be obtained by calling 119 in the UK for travelling overseas (which could take 5 days to arrive by post).
Children under the age of 18 will not have to isolate when returning to England. While the recommendation that people should not travel to amber countries is being removed, children aged 4 and under will continue to be exempt from any travel testing. Children aged 5 to 10 will only need to do a day 2 PCR and 11 to 18 year olds will need to take both a pre-departure test and a day 2 PCR – as is the case for arrivals from green list countries.

At this stage, there will be no changes to requirements for those returning from green or red list countries – even when they are fully vaccinated, nor for unvaccinated passengers travelling from amber countries who do not have a valid exemption.

The changes will come into force from Monday 19 July at 4am. Those who have been fully vaccinated with an NHS administered vaccine in the UK and are returning from amber countries will still be required to complete a pre-departure test before arrival into England, alongside a PCR test on or before day 2 after arrival. They will not have to take a day 8 test or self-isolate.

The government says it is also exploring plans to remove quarantine for vaccinated non-UK residents arriving from amber countries later this summer.

The Test to Release scheme scheme remains an option for non-fully vaccinated travellers returning from amber countries to shorten their quarantine period, by paying for a private test and being released early if they receive a negative COVID-19 test result.