Coming to London from overseas

Published Friday, 28^th May, 2021 in University news

If you are considering coming to London from overseas, it is important to be aware of the current travel guidelines and everything you will be required to do before and after your journey.

It is worth noting however that the information comprised here is representative of the current phase England finds itself in and the government has not said whether, should England go ahead with its plan to phase out restrictions on Monday 21^st June, this will impact advice.

Organising your travel

Currently, there is a traffic light system in place which classifies countries based on the level of risk, and the restrictions that apply as follows:

• If you have travelled from or through a red list country 10 days before arrival, you must quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel. You must book this in advance of your travel.
• If you have travelled from or through an amber list country, you must complete a 10-day period of self-isolation in your own accommodation upon arrival.
• If you have travelled from or through a green list country you do not have to self-isolate in your accommodation or enter managed quarantine, but you must still ensure you have booked a pre-departure test, completed a passenger locator form and booked a travel test package.

If you are coming to the UK from a country on the self-isolation list, the University has put in place the ‘International Student Welcome Package’ whereby you can request before your arrival a shopping voucher to buy food and essential items you might need during the quarantine period to help you get settled in. To apply for this support, please complete the online request form and check Student Hub for more information.

Before you travel

• Check whether you are travelling from a red, amber or green-list country.
• Apply for the International Students Welcome Package (if eligible).
• Take a Covid-19 test and get a negative result three days before you travel.
• Complete a passenger locator form listing where you will quarantine upon arrival.
• Pre-book and pay for a travel test package, which will include Covid-19 tests to be taken on or before day two and on or after day eight of quarantine.
• Be ready to present proof of study documents when you arrive in the UK.
• Regularly check all relevant guidance pages for the latest updates before you travel, as guidance may change.
• Speak to your travel insurer to understand the implications of changing your travel date.

Once you have arrived

Once you arrive in the UK you will need to follow a timeline for testing which is as follows:

• Day zero: the day you arrive in England will be treated as day zero.
• Day zero - day two: take your first test, which is designed to help identify any potentially harmful variants of Covid-19 at the earliest opportunity. Tests will be taken in your own accommodation. If you receive a positive test, you will be sent instructions on what to do, including self isolation, which you will need to follow.
• Day eight: if you received a negative result from your day two test, you will need to take a Covid-19 test on or after day eight.
• Day ten: if you’ve quarantined for 10 days and received a negative result to both the day two and day eight tests, you may leave the place where you’re quarantining. The 10-day period is counted from the day after you left your country of origin before returning to the UK.

If you require support during this process, you can get in touch with the Visa & Immigration Advice team.