Do I still have to self-isolate if I visit Scotland?
England is to lift its quarantine requirement for some 76 countries and territories as of Friday – but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to announce if they will follow suit.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish government told Connexion yesterday they “hope to have completed consideration of the list of countries put forward by the UK government… in the coming days”.
It is not clear if this process will be completed by Friday, or if there will be an overlap, with the quarantine requirement remaining in place for some time for those travelling to nations of the UK other than England. It is also not completely clear if France will be on the Scottish 'travel corridor' list if one is released (though it is likely).
From Friday, there will not be a quarantine requirement for people travelling from France to stay in England, although they will still have to complete the ‘passenger locator form’ with details of where they will be staying.
The UK’s foreign affairs ministry, the FCO, has already changed its official travel advice for France, lifting the country out of previous across-the-board advice to travel for ‘essential reasons’ only. That means British residents coming to France no longer face potential problems with travel insurance validity.
However if an obligatory 14-day quarantine requirement remains in the other parts of the UK other than England, anyone travelling for example from Paris to Edinburgh will have to self-isolate after arrival, as now.
The same applies to anyone arriving at an English airport, but who will then be travelling on to Scotland – or Wales or Northern Ireland – as their main destination (as listed in their passenger locator form). This will remain the case until such a time as one or all of the other nations announces a ‘travel corridor’ with France.
The Scottish government spokeswoman said: “Individuals who travel to Scotland will be expected to adhere to the legal requirements which are in place in Scotland irrespective of their point of entry into the UK.”
At the same time France is expected to maintain its own ‘voluntary’ self-isolation requirement for people coming into France from airports in countries that are maintaining a quarantine for those coming for France.
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