Is amber the new green

The traffic light system still generates a lot of confusion, so here we'll attempt to clarify some of the questions we've been asked of late. For red list countries, the rules are pretty clear, you must book and pay for a quarantine hotel if returning directly from a red list country or having transited through a red list country in the 10 days prior to return. In this post we will look closely at the difference in rules for amber and green listed countries. The information is valid at the time of writing, 1 September 2021.

What are the rules for green list countries compared to amber list countries?

If you are fully vaccinated there is no difference in the applicable rules when traveling back from either a green list or amber list country. Here's what you need to do on your way back from holiday:

• Take a Covid-19 test 3 days before traveling back to the UK
• Complete a passenger locator form 48 hours before landing in the UK
• Pre-book and take a day 2 Covid-19 test. Please note the day after you land in the UK is considered day 1

If you are not fully vaccinated you need to either:

• quarantine at home for 10 days and take a day 2 and day 8 covid test
• quarantine at home take a day 2 test and a day 5 "test to release" 

How to prove if you're fully vaccinated.

By far the easiest way to prove you are fully vaccinated is to use the NHS Covid pass.  You can get this by either downloading the NHS app (different from the track and trace app: "NHS Covid-19"). The app has a number of options, you can choose to download the certificate to your phone or have it emailed; Apple users can also save it to their apple wallet.

If you don't have a smartphone, you can register on the NHS website and either print or download a copy; there is also an option to request a copy be posted to your home address.  Full details can be found here

List of Green List Countries

Currently the following countries are on the UK Green List:

Anguilla          

Antarctica/British Antarctic Territory           

Antigua and Barbuda 

Austria

Australia         

The Azores      

Barbados        

Bermuda         

British Indian Ocean Territory           

Brunei

Bulgaria          

Canada            

Cayman Islands         

Croatia            

Denmark         

Dominica        

Falkland Islands          

Faroe Islands  

Finland            

Germany         

Gibraltar         

Grenada          

Hong Kong      

Iceland            

Israel and Jerusalem  

Latvia  

Liechtenstein  

Lithuania         

Madeira          

Malta  

Montserrat     

New Zealand  

Norway           

Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands          

Romania         

Singapore       

Slovakia          

Slovenia          

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Switzerland    

Taiwan            

Turks and Caicos Islands        

Amber List Countries

Here is the current list of amber countries:

Akrotiri and Dhekelia

Albania           

Algeria

Andorra          

Armenia          

Aruba  

Azerbaijan      

The Bahamas  

Bahrain           

Belarus            

Belgium          

Belize  

Benin  

Bhutan            

Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba       

Bosnia and Herzegovina        

British Virgin Islands  

Burkina Faso   

Cambodia       

Cameroon       

Central African Republic        

Chad    

China   

Comoros         

Congo  

Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue        

Côte d’Ivoire   

Curaçao           

Cyprus

Czech Republic (Czechia)       

Djibouti           

El Salvador      

Equatorial Guinea      

Estonia            

Fiji       

France

French Polynesia        

Gabon

The Gambia    

Ghana

Greece (including islands)     

Greenland       

Guadeloupe    

Guatemala      

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Honduras        

Hungary          

India    

Iran     

Iraq     

Italy     

Jamaica           

Japan  

Jordan

Kazakhstan     

Kiribati            

Kosovo            

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan      

Laos     

Lebanon          

Liberia

Libya   

Luxembourg   

Macao

Madagascar    

Malaysia         

Mali     

Marshall Islands         

Martinique     

Mauritania     

Mauritius        

Micronesia      

Moldova         

Monaco          

Morocco         

Nauru  

Netherlands    

New Caledonia           

Nicaragua       

Niger   

Nigeria

North Korea    

North Macedonia       

The Occupied Palestinian Territories            

Palau   

Papua New Guinea    

Poland

Portugal          Madeira is on the green watchlist. 

The Azores is on the green list.

Qatar  

Russia

Samoa

San Marino     

Sao Tome and Principe          

Saudi Arabia   

Senegal           

Serbia  

Solomon Islands         

South Korea    

South Sudan   

Spain, including the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands (Formentera, Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca)    

St Kitts and Nevis       

St Lucia           

St Maarten     

St Martin and St Barthélemy

St Pierre and Miquelon          

St Vincent and the Grenadines          

Sweden           

Syria    

Tajikistan        

Timor-Leste    

Togo    

Tonga  

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Ukraine           

United Arab Emirates

United States (USA)   

Uzbekistan      

Vanuatu          

Vatican City    

Vietnam          

Wallis and Futuna      

Western Sahara         

Yemen