How to self-isolate if you arrived in England before 15 February 2021

Testing for people travelling to England

You must have proof of a negative coronavirus (COVID-19) test to travel to England.

You must take a test even if you are a UK citizen.

You must take the test in the 3 days before you start your journey to England.

Isolating in the UK

When you arrive in England, you must travel directly to the place you are staying and not leave until 10 days have passed since you left or transited through any country outside the Common Travel Area. This is known as ‘self-isolating’. Similar rules apply in relation to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The 10-day period is counted from the day after you left your country of origin before returning to the UK.

The 10-day self-isolation period is necessary because it can take up to 10 days for coronavirus symptoms to appear. If you’re travelling to England for less than 10 days, you will be expected to self-isolate for the length of your stay, but you can travel directly to your place of departure. It is important to note that under the national lockdown rules for England, you must not leave or be outside of your place of residence except where necessary.

Travel corridors have been suspended from 4am on Monday 18 January. Anyone arriving in the UK from outside the Common Travel Area after 4am on Monday 18 January will needs to self-isolate for 10 days.

You should follow separate advice if you need to self-isolate in:

Before you travel to England from anywhere outside the Common Travel Area, you must provide your journey, contact details and the address where you will self-isolate. You can complete the public health passenger locator form 48 hours before you arrive. You may be required to present these details on your arrival in England. Similar rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You may be refused permission to enter the UK (if you are not a British citizen), or fined if you do not provide your contact details or do not self-isolate when required to do so.

National lockdown

On 4 January 2021, the UK government introduced National lockdown: Stay at Home rules for England. You must not leave, or be outside of your place of residence except where necessary.

You must still self-isolate for 10 days when you arrive in England after leaving or passing through any country outside the Common Travel Area.

Similar restrictions have been introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For more information on the restrictions that apply in the area you are travelling to, see:

Non-EEA national visitors, and EEA nationals without a right to reside in the UK, will be denied entry to the UK if, in the 10 days before their arrival to the UK, they have been in or travelled through countries with a travel ban to the UK.

British and Irish nationals, or third country nationals with residence rights in the UK, can enter the UK after having been in these countries but are required to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival. There are no exemptions to self-isolation (for example, for certain workers) for these travellers.

People who share a household with anyone self-isolating after returning from the above countries now also need to self-isolate until 10 days have passed since anyone they live with was last in one of these countries. These enhanced measures are in place in order to prevent the spread of new strains of coronavirus (COVID-19) into the UK.

In England, if you do not self-isolate in accordance with the rules, you can receive a fixed penalty notice of £1,000 for a first offence, increasing to £2,000 for a second offence. Further repeat offences will attract penalties of £4,000 and then £10,000 for each repeat offence.

If you do not provide an accurate passenger locator form – or do not update your passenger locator form in the limited circumstances permitted where you need to move from the accommodation where you’re self-isolating to another place to continue self-isolating – you can be fined up to £3,200.

If you need to self-isolate on arrival in England, you can take a COVID-19 test with a private test provider to see if you can end self-isolation early. Read more about the Test to Release for international travel scheme. You cannot opt-in to the Test to Release if you have been in or transited through any country with a travel ban to the UK in the 10 days prior to your arrival.

Who must self-isolate

These rules are for UK residents and all visitors coming into England. See the rules in relation to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You will need to complete a public health passenger locator form unless you are travelling within the Common Travel Area, and have been in the Common Travel Area for the past 10 days.

All international arrivals who have departed from or transited through any country outside the Common Travel Area in the previous 10 days will be required to both take a pre-departure test, and self-isolate immediately for 10 days on arrival. This includes British and Irish nationals.

Some people do not have to complete a passenger locator form and/or self-isolate because of their job.

If you have visited a country with a travel ban to the UK in the 10 days before arriving in England, you and everyone in your household must self-isolate for 10 days from the day after you left any of these countries.

Unlike travel to England from other countries outside of the Common Travel Area, there are no exemptions to self-isolation for people who have been in or transited through any of these countries in the 10 days before they arrived.

Examples of when you need to self-isolate

Why self-isolating is important

When you arrive in England, it is very important that you stay in your declared accommodation for the full self-isolation period (see examples above). It can take up to 10 days for you to develop coronavirus symptoms after you catch the virus and in this time you can unknowingly pass it on to others, even if you don’t have symptoms.

Self-isolating will reduce the spread of coronavirus in England and help prevent family, friends and the community from contracting coronavirus, as well as helping to protect the NHS.

How to travel to the place where you are self-isolating

When you arrive in England, go straight to the place you’re staying to self-isolate.

Only use public transport if you have no other option. If you do use public transport, wear something that covers your nose and mouth and stay 2 metres apart from other people unless you’re exempt. Pack a face covering to cover your nose and mouth before you travel. If you have coronavirus symptoms, it is important that you do not travel by public transport.

If you have a long journey within the UK to arrive at your self-isolation accommodation, you may be able to stop overnight in accommodation in which you can isolate yourself from others before continuing your journey. Before doing so, you should check that the overnight stay is necessary and permitted under the national lockdown ‘Stay at Home’ rules. If so, you must self-isolate and provide the address of your overnight stop on your passenger locator form in addition to your declared accommodation address.

If you develop coronavirus symptoms when you’re travelling to England, you should tell one of the crew on your plane, boat, train or bus. They’ll let staff in the airport, port or station know, so they can tell you what you should do next when you arrive.

How to self-isolate in your accommodation

You should self-isolate in one place for the full self-isolation period, where you can have food and other necessities delivered.

You must self-isolate at the address you provided on the passenger locator form.

This can include:

You should not have visitors, including friends and family, unless they are providing:

• emergency assistance

• care or assistance, including personal care

• medical assistance

• veterinary services

• certain critical public services

If you are self-isolating in England, you must also comply with the national lockdown rules. Similar restrictions have been introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For more information on the restrictions that apply in the area you are travelling to, see:

You cannot go out to work or school. You cannot visit public areas, whether for the purpose of exercise, open air recreation or otherwise. You should not go shopping. If you require help buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, you should ask friends or relatives or order a delivery.

In England, you must only exercise within your home or garden. You cannot leave your home to walk your dog. You will need to ask friends or relatives to help you with this.

NHS Volunteer Responders are also available if you need help collecting shopping, medication or would like a telephone ‘check-in and chat’. Call 0808 196 3646 (8am to 8pm) to arrange volunteer support. You can arrange one-off support, or schedule more regular help while you are self-isolating.

In England, you may only leave your place of self-isolation in limited circumstances as set out in the national lockdown rules. Similar restrictions have been introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For more information on the restrictions that apply in the area you are travelling to, see:

General exceptions

Exceptions from remaining at your place of self-isolation include where:

• you are travelling directly in order to leave England, provided this is for a permitted reason under the national lockdown rules

• you need urgent medical assistance (or where your doctor has advised you to get medical assistance)

• you need urgent access to veterinary services (or on the advice of a veterinary surgeon)

• you have exceptional circumstances (such as those described below)

• you need to fulfil a legal obligation such as participate in legal proceedings

• you’re avoiding injury or illness or escaping a risk of harm

• you’re leaving your accommodation on compassionate grounds, such as:

  • going to the funeral of a close family member or someone you live with

  • visiting a dying or critically ill family member or someone you live with

Exceptional circumstances

In England, you may also be allowed to leave your accommodation in exceptional circumstances. This includes such things as:

• accessing basic necessities like food and medicines where you cannot arrange for these to be delivered

• accessing critical public services including social services and services provided to victims (such as victims of crime)

• moving to a different place for self-isolation where you can no longer remain where you are

There may be other exceptional circumstances which permit you to leave your place of self-isolation. You will need to consider carefully whether your circumstances are exceptional circumstances that require you to leave your place of self-isolation. It may be useful to seek advice from a medical or other professional to discuss your circumstances so that you can decide whether, for example, you have a health condition or a disability that would be seriously exacerbated if you were not able to leave the accommodation (and its outdoor areas) where you are self-isolating to take exercise.

Changing address

You are not allowed to change the place where you are self-isolating except in very limited circumstances, including where:

• a legal obligation requires you to change address, such as where you are a child whose parents live separately, and you need to move between homes as part of a shared custody agreement

• it’s necessary and permissible for you to stay overnight at accommodation before travelling to the place where you will be self-isolating for the remaining period

If this happens, you must provide full details of each address where you will self-isolate on the passenger locator form. If, in exceptional circumstances, you cannot remain where you are staying, you can move to a new place to self-isolate and you must complete a new passenger locator form as soon as possible.

Support to help you self-isolate in your own accommodation

The people you’re staying with do not need to self-isolate, unless:

If you cannot safely self-isolate for 10 days, you should tell Border Force Officers when you pass through UK border controls. They will provide you with details of a booking service which you can use to obtain accommodation and self-isolate in at your own expense. Staying at home may be difficult, frustrating or lonely, but there are things that you can do to help make it easier.

NHS Volunteer Responders are also on hand to have a friendly chat. If you would like a telephone ‘check in and chat’ please call 0808 196 3646 (8am to 8pm) to arrange volunteer support.

Within your accommodation

The people you’re staying with do not need to self-isolate at home unless:

If you’re staying in a hotel or guest house, you must stay away from others who didn’t travel with you, so it’s important that you don’t use shared areas such as bars, restaurants, health clubs and sports facilities. Stay 2 metres apart from other people staying there at all times.

It’s important to avoid as much contact with other people as possible in your home in order to reduce the risk of transmitting coronavirus. You should stay in a well-ventilated room with a window to the outside that can be opened, separate from other people in your home.

Washing your hands and keeping good hygiene

Everyone should wash their hands regularly, but this is particularly important for people who have recently travelled to the UK because you could have contracted coronavirus and not yet developed symptoms. Wash your hands frequently with soap and hot water, for at least 20 seconds, rinse and dry thoroughly. Use alcohol-based hand sanitiser if soap and water are not available. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when you cough or sneeze. Dispose of tissues into a plastic waste bag, and immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, rinse and dry thoroughly.

After self-isolating

If you do not have any coronavirus symptoms at the end of your self-isolation period, you must still follow the same rules as people who live in England.

On 4 January, the UK government introduced National lockdown: Stay at Home rules for England. You must not leave or be outside of your place of residence except where necessary. Similar restrictions have been introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For more information on the restrictions that apply in the area you are travelling to, see:

What to do if you get coronavirus symptoms

You should look for any of the following symptoms in the 10 days after the day you arrive in England:

• new continuous cough
• high temperature
• loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

If you have any of these symptoms, you should continue to self-isolate at home. If you are staying with others and you develop symptoms, the whole household that you are staying with should begin self-isolating.

You should self-isolate for at least 10 days from the date of symptom onset and until you are better and no longer have a high temperature. Symptoms of a cough or changes to your sense of smell or taste can last for several weeks after the infection has gone and so you can stop self-isolating even if you have these symptoms. The household you are staying with should self-isolate for 10 days from the point that your symptoms start.

You should get a test if you have symptoms of coronavirus. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 119 to arrange for a test.

If your test for coronavirus is positive you will be asked to share your contacts with the NHS Test and Trace service, and your contact detail declaration may be used to alert people who travelled to the UK alongside you. You will also be required to self-isolate for a further 10 days from when your symptoms started – even if it means you’re self-isolating for longer than your original isolation period. If you have not had symptoms, the 10 days starts from when you had the test.

If you carry out an NHS test and receive a negative result for coronavirus, you must continue to self-isolate until the end of your self-isolation period, even if, for example, your symptoms have gone.

If you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home, or your condition gets worse, or your symptoms do not get better after 10 days, then use the NHS 111 online coronavirus (COVID-19) service. If you do not have internet access, call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

If you develop new symptoms or your existing symptoms worsen within your 10-day self-isolation period, then please contact NHS 111 and follow their advice.

Self-isolation rules after arriving in England

If you arrive in England without any symptoms

You must self-isolate for 10 days from the day after you left your country of departure before returning to the UK. If you still have no symptoms after 10 days, your period of self-isolation ends.

Your household does not need to self-isolate, unless:

If you arrive in England with symptoms

You must self-isolate for 10 days from the day after you left your country of departure before returning to the UK. Your household also needs to self-isolate for 10 days from when you return to your household.

If you no longer have symptoms after 10 days, your self-isolation period ends. If no one in your household has symptoms, their self-isolation period also ends.

Anyone who has symptoms can get a test. If you test positive, additional self-isolation requirements apply.

If you arrive in England without symptoms, but develop symptoms before your self-isolation period ends

If you develop symptoms before your 10-day self-isolation period ends, you should self-isolate for 10 more days from the point you developed symptoms, even though this is longer than your initial 10-day self-isolation period. If your symptoms have stopped after these 10 extra days, your self-isolation period ends.

Your household will need to self-isolate for 10 days from the day you develop symptoms. If they have no symptoms after 10 days, their self-isolation period ends.

Anyone who has symptoms can get a test. If you test positive, additional self-isolation requirements apply.

Diagram showing how the self-isolation rules apply when someone arrives in the England

Exemptions

A small proportion of people travelling to England to maintain essential supply chains, critical national infrastructure or to contribute to crisis response or other essential government work will not need to self-isolate or may need to self-isolate only in certain circumstances. Some people will not need to complete the public health passenger locator form. Read the full list of exemptions to self-isolation requirements. Similar exemptions apply in respect to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Unlike other travel to England, there are no exemptions to self-isolation for you or your household if you visited a country with a travel ban to the UK in the 10 days before arriving in England.

If you’re a seasonal agricultural worker, you must complete the public health passenger locator form and remain on the farm where you are working and staying for 10 days.

Even if you’re exempt from self-isolation, you will still need to follow the restrictions that apply in the area you are self-isolating.

Like everyone in the UK, even if you’re exempt you should not travel and should immediately self-isolate if you get the symptoms of coronavirus. You must follow the restrictions that apply in your area and work safely.