United Kingdom

List of vaccines approved in the UK for travellers

Approved vaccines
You must have had a complete course of one of the following vaccines at least 14 days before you arrive in England:

Oxford/AstraZeneca
Pfizer BioNTech
Moderna
Janssen (single dose vaccine)
Sinovac-CoronaVac
Sinopharm Beijing
Covaxin
The day you have your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.

Formulations of these vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, also qualify as approved vaccines.

2 dose vaccines
If you were vaccinated with a 2 dose vaccine, or a combination of them, you must have had both doses to be considered fully vaccinated for travel to the UK.

This applies in all cases, even if you’ve recently recovered from COVID-19 and have natural immunity.

Those who have had COVID-19 and have only had one dose of a 2 dose vaccine must follow the rules for unvaccinated arrivals.

Where 2 doses of a vaccine are required for a full course, you can:

mix 2 different types of vaccine from the above list, for example Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sinopharm Beijing
have the 2 vaccinations under 2 different approved programmes, for example Australia and Japan, UK and USA, France and Canada
Single dose vaccines
If you had an approved one dose vaccine (the Janssen vaccine), you are fully vaccinated.

UK Entry Permission Omicron: Passengers are not permitted to enter the United Kingdom if they have travelled to or transited through any of the Red List Countries in the past 10 days.

This does not apply to: 

European Economic Area (EEA) nationals who have a right of permanent residence in the UK under the EEA regulations, either holding an EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) leave, or an existing qualification under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement;
EEA nationals who are minors (unless it is against the best interests of the child);
Passengers residing in the UK, either holding Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, existing leave to enter or remain, entry clearance that grants such leave (for students, workers, etc. but excluding visit visas), or are family members of EEA nationals with rights under the Withdrawal Agreement;
Crew members;
Seamen;
Transit passengers departing from any countries listed above, provided they will not leave the international transit area when transiting in the UK and they are travelling to a country outside of the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands). These passengers must be arriving and departing from the same port in the UK; or
Medical staff employed by NHS and passengers transporting human cell or blood.
 Test: Passengers aged 12 years and older must hold a negative Covid-19 test certificate (PCR or LFD test) obtained within 2 days prior to departure. The test may be printed or a digital copy, and in English, French, or Spanish. It must include the passenger's name, date of birth or age, test result, date of the test, details of the test provider, and name of the test device. Passengers not holding this test will be subject to an immediate £500 (GBP) fine. The passenger must ensure the test meets the minimum standards for sensitivity, specify and viral load details. 

This does not apply to:

Children aged 11 years and younger;
Passengers who cannot obtain the test due to medical reasons and have a doctor's note explaining this;
Passengers who reside in the United Kingdom but work in another country and travel between the UK and their country of work at least once a week;
Hauliers;
Border and customs officials;
Air, maritime, and rail crew;
Passengers transporting human cells and blood products;
Seamen and surveyors of ships, due to work on a vessel or need to transit the UK to join or leave a vessel;
Specialist technical workers doing emergency works;
Defence personnel, visiting forces and government contractors in limited circumstances;
Foreign government officials in limited circumstances;
UK government officials conducting essential state business, essential government work or essential policing in limited circumstances; or
Passengers travelling from the Common Travel Area (UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands), Ethiopia, Falkland Islands or Saint Helena and Ascension.
 Form: Passengers must complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) within 48 hours prior to departure to receive a QR code which must be presented prior to boarding. The PLF must contain the correct flight number and date.

Passengers who declare on their Passenger Locator Form that they meet the Covid-19 vaccination eligibility criteria for reduced isolation and testing (the Vaccination Exemption), must hold proof they have received 2 doses of the AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinopharm, or Sinovac vaccine, or 1 dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine at least 14 days prior to arrival (not include the day you receive your final dose), or a mix between 2-doses of the AstraZeneca, Moderna, or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. The following passengers are considered fully vaccinated: Passengers 17 and younger, passengers taking part in an approved COVID-19 vaccine trial in the UK or the USA (US residents only for USA trials), residents in England who have a medical exemption from vaccination and hold a letter confirming it and pregnant women who hold their MAT B1 certificate.

The proof of vaccination must be issued by a national or state-level public health body that includes the passengers' forename and surname(s), date of birth, vaccine brand and manufacturer, date of vaccination for every dose, country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer. If the document does not include all of the required passenger details, or the passenger does not meet all the fully vaccinated rules, the passenger must follow the rules for non-vaccinated passengers or may be denied boarding. Examples of accepted proof include the NHS Covid Pass, an EU Digital Covid Certificate, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card, or an official vaccination documents from an approved country.

The following passengers are not required to complete the PLF: 

Officials and contractors required to work on essential border security duties in the UK;
Channel Tunnel system workers;
Defence personnel, visiting forces and government contractors;
Members of diplomatic missions and consular posts in the UK, representatives of international organisations, representatives at an international or UK conference granted privileges and immunities, and their families or dependents;
Representatives of a foreign country or territory or British overseas territories;
Passengers in transit, including through red list countries, who do not leave the transit area; or
Pilots and crew members.
 Vaccine: Vaccinated passengers using the NHS Covid-19 Pass are advised to download their certificate in their digital wallet or as PDF prior to travel due to the known failure of the Covid Pass and the QR code. 

Passengers who are departing imminently may complete the PLF by declining to upload their vaccination status if the NHS App fails and are allowed to board without completing a new PLF or pre-departure test (PDT).

Passengers who are declared vaccinated on the PLF who encounter the NHS Covid Pass App failure are allowed to board without completing a new PLF or pre-departure test (PDT).

Passengers who are declared vaccinated on the PLF and are unable to validate a QR code while using the NHS App, are allowed to board and the QR code checked visually instead.

 Test and Quarantine on Arrival: 

All passengers who have been in contact with the Omicron Covid-19 variant must quarantine for 10 days.

Unvaccinated passengers: Passengers who are not fully vaccinated or are only partially vaccinated against Covid-19 must book and pay for a day 2 and day 8 test to be taken after arrival and quarantine for 10 days on arrival at home or the place where they are staying.

Vaccinated passengers: Passengers who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 must book and pay for a day 2 PCR test to be taken after arrival and quarantine until a negative test is received.

Other exempt passengers: Children aged 4 years and younger. Passengers aged between 5 and 17 years old must book and pay for their day 2 test, however they are exempt from the quarantine requirement.

This does not apply to passengers who have been in a Red List Country in the past 10 days.

 Quarantine on Arrival: 10 days on arrival in a government-approved managed quarantine hotel at their own expense if the passenger has travelled to or transited through any of the Red List Countries in the past 10 days.

Passengers will only be permitted to enter the UK via London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Birmingham Airport (BHX), Aberdeen Dyce Airport (ABZ), Edinburgh Airport (EDI) or Glasgow International Airport (GLA),

Passengers must have booked the quarantine package prior to arrival. The quarantine package will include the managed quarantine hotel, quarantine transport and the travel test package for Covid-19 tests on day 2 and day 8 of quarantine. Passengers who face financial hardship as a result of the quarantine costs may be able to apply for a deferred repayment plan when booking. Passengers who have not arranged a quarantine package prior to arrival may be fined up to £4000 and will still have to pay for the quarantine package on arrival. Passengers that break the quarantine rules may be fined up to £10,000. Passengers aged 4 years and younger will not be required to submit to Covid-19 testing but will still be required to quarantine.

The requirement of quarantine in a government-approved managed quarantine hotel does not apply to unaccompanied children aged 17 years and younger who have travelled to or transited through the above countries, provided they are travelling to England to attend a boarding school. These students must still quarantine in accommodation arranged by boarding school, and can only enter the UK via London Heathrow Airport (LHR). Students must hold a copy of the letter from the Department for Education to the school confirming these students are covered by the exception, and a letter from the school to the student showing the requirements are met.

The following passengers will not be required to quarantine: 

Defence personnel, visiting forces and government contractors, provided holding a letter from the Ministry of Defence;
Officials and contractors performing essential border security duties, provided holding their official photo identification;
International escorts undertaking extradition work;
Crown servants or government contractors, provided holding a letter from the relevant department of the UK government;
Members of diplomatic missions and consular posts in the UK, representatives of international organisations or representatives at an international or UK conference, and their families or dependant, will not be required to quarantine in a hotel but must quarantine in private accommodation on arrival;
Representatives of a foreign country or territory or British overseas territories, provided travelling for official business that cannot be undertaken while in quarantine and holding a letter from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Family members or other dependants travelling with the passenger must quarantine in private accommodation on arrival;
Crew members, if they live in the UK they do not need to quarantine, however if they live overseas then they must self-isolate in their accommodation while in England, except while they are undertaking the exempt activity or travelling as part of their work;
Seamen and masters and inspectors and surveyors of ships, if they live in the UK they do not need to quarantine, however if they live overseas then they must self-isolate in their accommodation while in England, except while they are undertaking the exempt activity or travelling as part of their work;
Transit passengers who will not enter the UK;
Passengers who were in transit through a red list country, provided the passengers did not mix with any other passengers in the airport and no new passengers boarded the flight after the transit stop. Passengers may leave the flight during the transit stop; or
Medical staff employed by NHS and passengers transporting human cells or blood.
 UK Red List Countries: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.