The 11th of October is the day South Africa will officially be removed from the UK Red List, which until then, has prohibited travel between the countries without strict quarantine practices in place.
South Africa (08 October 2021) – The December holidays are about to get so much better! After years of not being able to see loved ones, family and friends, the UK has taken South Africa off the red list. This means if you are fully vaccinated, you may enter the country, or if your family want to come home for a visit, they can avoid those expensive forced quarantines in the UK if they too are fully vaccinated.
Many South Africans have pushed back on the official Vaccine Certificate System. However, it is this very system that aided in the country being removed from the red list.
“[South Africa] Will be added to this list of countries and territories with approved proof of vaccination 4am Monday 11 October. If you arrive in England before that date you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated. If you arrive after that, you can use a vaccine certificate to prove your vaccination status.
This country is currently on the red list. If you have been in a red list country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England, you must follow the red list rules.” – UK Government
List Breakdown.
Red list: Pre-departure test, hotel quarantine for 10 days, plus PCR test on days 2 and 8.
Rest of the world: Day 2 test for fully vaccinated travellers. Pre-departure test, quarantine for 10 days, and test on days 2 and 8 for unvaccinated people.
There are a few terms and conditions related to the UK vaccine programme. Should you wish to travel to the UK, you will need to comply with the set rules.
The current approved vaccines are:
- Oxford/AstraZeneca
- Pfizer BioNTech
- Moderna
- Janssen
If you were vaccinated with a 2 dose vaccine (Moderna, Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca, or a combination of them), you must have had both doses to be considered fully vaccinated.
This applies in all cases, even if you’ve recently recovered from COVID-19 and have natural immunity.
You can find the list with full details related to this update on the UK’s official government website here. The website answers all possible questions related to travel into the UK.
We hope this helps you and your family navigate your travel opportunities easily. Tag the person you cannot wait to see in the comment section, so everyone can have the details they need to start planning.
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