The UK reopened to tourist entry a few weeks ago. One practices a very complicated traffic light, which can vary depending on the part of the country. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different entry requirements.

Although the rules are similar, there may be deviations depending on the “country of origin”. The provisions presented in this article refer to the part of England, in which, for example, the capital London is located.

England relies on a multi-level travel light, which is not only controversial, but also complicated because of frequent reclassifications, which are sometimes not really understandable. The heart of the rules are corona tests and a PLF form, which not only asks many questions, but sometimes also requires the "study" of various lists of reasons.

Traffic lights must be observed

There are currently the classifications "Green", "Amber", "Amber Plus" and "Red". Depending on the list in which the country you come from or where you have stayed within the last ten days is entered, the easier or more complicated the preparation for entry to England is. The individual traffic light colors are explained below.

Green

Means that you need a negative corona test (antigen or PCR, maximum 72 hours old) in addition to the PLF form. Furthermore, you have to book and pay for an appointment in advance for a second test, which has to be carried out on the second day after arrival. The booking code of the test facility must be entered in the PLF form. Even fully vaccinated people must be able to present a negative corona test upon entry.

Amber

In addition to the test that you have to present on entry, you must take it on days 2 and 8 after entry. The costs must be borne by yourself and the booking codes of the test facility must be entered in the PLF form. People who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are subject to quarantine at home. Vaccinated persons are exempt from quarantine and the test on the eighth day.

AmberPlus

The rules are identical to those of Amber, but vaccinated people are not exempt from quarantine either. Depending on the destination, it may also be necessary to take a corona test at the airport. This is chargeable and the booking code must be entered in the PLF form.

Red

Only UK and Irish residents or nationals are eligible for entry. For all others, with a few exceptions, there is an entry ban. In addition to the negative test result, which must be presented upon entry, hotel quarantine must be paid for. This must be booked in specified houses and paid for in advance. Two further corona tests are included, which must be carried out on days 2 and 8. The booking code of the quarantine hotel must be entered in the PLF form.

electronic PLF form must always be filled out

England requires an electronic PLF form to be completed. There is a lot of information to be given in this and it is sometimes quite complicated to select the correct answers from the lists. Therefore, you should definitely take enough time to read the official travel rules on the government website. The PLF must also be filled in if you are only changing in England. Attention trap: The vaccination certificate (if available) and the test certificate are also required if you only change airside in England, unless the start location is green.

Airside and landside transit are treated differently

In general, when changing trains (“transit”), a distinction is made between staying airside, i.e. not leaving the security area and thus not formally entering, or whether you want to leave it (“landside transit”). In principle, both are possible, but you have to search for a longer time in the list of reasons for exceptions, because otherwise the form for "landside" requires a booking code for the second corona test. However, this is not required if you leave the UK within 24 hours.

For explanation: Airside transit is, for example, when you fly to London Heathrow and transfer to another plane there. You do not leave the security area and so you are not formally entering the UK.

Landside transit would be given, for example, if you fly to London-Stansted and take another flight from another airport, e.g. London-Gatwick. Another circumstance: If you have several hours of "air" between two flights from the same airport and do not want to stay in the terminal, but want to go for a walk in the open - this is also what is known as landside transit.

Regarding the corona tests, it should be noted that Green generally also recognizes the results of rapid antigen tests. With Amber, it depends on whether you have been vaccinated or not. In any case, only PCR results are accepted with Red. The prices for testing are exorbitantly high in the UK and you have to pay yourself. The NHS only pays for the test if there is an acute suspicion of an illness.

Beware of fraudulent homepages

Finally, some important piece of advice: the UK is very frequent in reclassification. Therefore you should inform yourself about the current rules and "colors of the traffic lights" shortly before departure. Checks are only carried out on a random basis, but the "darker" the traffic light, the more likely a particularly thorough check with very long waiting times.

Don't give scammers a chance! Filling out the PLF form is always free! Use only the official UK Government website to obtain information and complete the PLF form. The UK government explicitly warns against fraudsters who provide alleged PLF forms for money. These are spurious. The criminals are only after your money and you won't get anything in return.

Official links and official PLF form

The links below lead only to official UK government sites.

Entry Information (UK Government Landing Page)

Information and traffic lights (official)

Information on the PLF form (official)

electronic PLF form (official)