you need to pay thousands of pounds and quarantine in a hotel for 10 days plus the day you arrive. But there is a way to avoid the ordeal and at the same time comply with the law. It might not make you come home earlier, but it will likely save you a big chunk of your money, and you will not have to spend your days self-isolating.
Travel expert Simon Calder calls this a ‘Red List Launderette’. You simply move away from the red-list location for 10 days before returning to the UK. First of all, only British or Irish Nationals, or people with residence rights in the UK are allowed to enter the UK if they have been in a country or territory on the red list in the previous 10 days.
You are required to book a quarantine package in a managed hotel, including 2 COVID-19 tests, before your arrival. You must also complete a passenger locator form and take a COVID-19 test (children aged 10 and under do not need to take the test).
When you then arrive, you must quarantine for 10 full days in the hotel – which means you will stay for 11 nights, including your day of arrival.
This is regardless of your vaccination status.
And, from August 12, the already hefty price of £1,750 for a person will rise to an eye-watering £2,285 – for a couple it will be £3,715. Children aged 5 to 12-years-old are to pay £325 and under 5s will go free. The rules set by the UK Government apply to England, but the devolved nations usually follow with similar restrictions.
