Latest Travel Changes November 2021
26
NOV.

Latest Travel News – November 26th 2021

What is the most current change to Covid testing rules in travel?


From 4am on October 24th we saw a major change in the Government’s required Covid testing for travel agenda. Those fully vaccinated passengers, along with the unvaccinated U18s travelling alongside them, arriving in the UK, would no longer have to take a pre-departure Covid test 72 hours before leaving their non-red destination country. Instead, they will now only be required to complete a private lateral flow test, on or before day 2 of arrival. Passengers will be asked to undertake the Covid test and send photographic evidence of the completed check to their chosen provider such as C19 testing. This company has featured in Which.

While this is the most current requirements and are likely to be in place until the New Year, it has been rumoured that a major travel review will take place in January. The hope is that ministers will look to work with aviation leaders to try and out the need for Covid testing in travel, altogether. This will only boost the much-needed recovery in travel even more. Watch this space as they say!

 

New Zealand to open borders in April 2022


New Zealand is set to reopen its borders to fully vaccinated, foreign travellers from April 30th 2022. The New Zealand Government states a period of 7-day isolation will be required on arrival.

This move is part of a 3-step process which will firstly see those New Zealand citizens currently overseas be allowed to return home. This will begin in January 2022.

As you might recall New Zealand were quick to close all of its borders when the pandemic hit back in March 2020.

Requirements to travel to New Zealand in 2022 will be the following:

  • a negative pre-departure test
  • proof of being fully vaccinated
  • a passenger declaration about travel history
  • a day 1 test on arrival
  • a requirement to self-isolate for 7 days, and
  • a final negative test before entering the community

The advanced announcement has been made to allow all parties, such as airlines, families and businesses time to prepare.

 

Belgium relaxes Covid travel restrictions for those fully vaccinated passengers from UK


Today (26th November 2021) sees the Covid testing restrictions for fully vaccinated passengers arriving in Belgium, relaxed.

Visitors from the UK were previously required to take a PCR or rapid antigen test on day 1 or day 2 of their trip and go into isolation until they received a negative test result.

If staying for a week or longer they would also need to take another test on the 7th day of the trip.

Today’s change sees visitors from the UK just needing to produce a negative test result on arrival. Passengers can choose to either undertake a PCR test within 72 hours of travel or a rapid antigen test must be done on the day before travel or on arrival.

In addition to producing the negative test results, those visitors arriving into Belgium must also complete a passenger locator form (PLF).

Travellers who are staying in Belgium for 48 hours or less will need to fill in the passenger locator form, but are not required to isolate or take a covid test.

 

Currency Online Group likes to keep its readers up to date with all the latest travel news. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more info like this @currencyonlinegroup


If you are planning on taking a trip then why not have your currency delivered direct to your door. We offer free delivery for orders over £750 and the service is secure and fully insured. Not only that we offer some of the best exchange rates on the market.


© Currency Online Group

26th November 2021

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Travel to the USA - What are the new rules?
05
NOV.

Can you believe that it was 16th March 2020 when the president at the time, Donald Trump, announced that those travelling from the UK were no longer allowed to enter the US, due to the risk of Covid?

It has been a long 20 months for those needing to make transatlantic journeys to visit friends and family, or to conduct business in the US. The announcement in October 2021 saw the US Government confirm that the USA would once again allow foreign nationals back into the country, a declaration welcomed by the masses hoping to visit the land of the free and the home of the brave!

November 8th 2021 (5:01am UK time) sees the long-awaited reopening of the US borders to those double vaccinated adults and their unvaccinated children wishing to travel there, from the UK.

As with all countries, the US will have its own set of entry requirements that must be adhered to in order to be admitted.

Only but last week there was a threat to the resumption of families travelling to the US, as it was somehow missed in the guidance that children under-18 would have to self-isolate for 7 days on arrival.

Frantic lobbying by industry leaders saw this unnoticed rule overturned by the US government meaning the period of quarantine for minors was no longer required.



The new rules for travelling to the US from the UK:

When the US borders open, they are currently only allowing those double vaccinated adults to enter from the UK plus unvaccinated children.

All passengers over the age of 2, including those fully vaccinated, must undertake a supervised Covid-19 test prior to travel to the US.

The only exception to this rule is if any traveller can prove that they have recovered from Coronavirus in the preceding 90 days, prior to travel, from a licenced healthcare provider.

You have the option to take either a PCR or private lateral flow test but either way the test must be conducted under live supervision.

Double vaccinated adults and those unvaccinated children accompanying a fully vaccinated parent or legal guardian have the option to take the test within 3 days of departure.

Those under-18s who are travelling alone will be required to take the test within 1 day of departure of travel.

You can self-test (otherwise known as a home test). The test must be a SAR-CoV-2 viral test with Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The home test service must also provide a video supervision service via an audio and video connection.



Express Test by Cignpost are currently advertising Antigen Lateral Flow Fit to Fly tests that provide results in 40 mins. These tests start from £35 and are suitable for travel the US.



There are a list of exemptions allowing non-vaccinated passengers to enter the U.S for exceptional reasons.  

These passengers are required to take a Covid-19 viral test 3-5 days after arrival in the United States, unless you have the correct documentation to prove of recovering from Covid-19 in the past 90 days.

When travelling to the US passengers will be required to wear a mask on all airlines and for the duration of the flight unless eating or drinking. Masks are also mandatory within all transportation hubs including airports.



Don’t forget if you are travelling to the US and require currency for our trip Currency Online Group provide the best market rate for your US Dollars and provide a home delivery service, meaning you can receive your travel money the next working day if ordered before 12pm. The service is completely secure and insured via Royal Mail Special Delivery. The service is free of charge for orders over £750.



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© Currency Online Group

5th November 2021

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