Guidance: Travel to England from another country during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Published: 05 January 2023
By Chris Haycock

Travel from mainland China

There are different rules if you travel to England from mainland China.

If you’re aged 12 or older, you will need to take a COVID-19 test no more than 2 days before you travel.

You will need to show notification of a negative COVID-19 test result when you depart mainland China for England. This will be checked by your airline, and you may be required to show this to Border Force on arrival to England.

This applies to all direct and indirect flights originating from mainland China. An indirect flight involves stops in one or more other countries or territories before arriving in England. This includes if you are travelling through Hong Kong or Macao.

It applies if England is your final destination, or if you will be transiting through England.

You must provide the original test result notification. Your test result must be in either English, French or Spanish.

Your test result can be provided as:

• a printed document
• an email or text message you can show on your phone – make sure your device is charged

It must include the following information:

• your name, which should match the name on your travel documents
• your date of birth or age
• the result of the test
• the date the test sample was collected or received by the test provider
• the name of the test provider and their contact details
• confirmation of the type of test taken, this can be a lateral flow or PCR

You cannot use an NHS-provided test as a pre-departure test.

You must retain your notification of a negative COVID-19 test result until you have passed through the UK border.

You may be fined if you do not follow these travel rules.

From 8 January 2023, some passengers will be invited to take a voluntary test on arrival to monitor for potential new variants. This applies to passengers aged 18 or over who are travelling from mainland China and arriving at Heathrow Airport only.

When you travel to England, you:

• do not need to complete a UK passenger locator form before you travel
• do not need to take any COVID-19 tests before you travel or after you arrive
• do not need to quarantine when you arrive

This applies whether you are vaccinated or not.

It includes people who are transiting through England.

From 5 January 2023, different rules apply to people travelling from mainland China. See the section of this guidance about travel from mainland China.

Other countries may have rules about what you need to do to leave the country to travel to England. You should check travel advice for the country you are travelling from.

Check separate public health guidance on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread of Coronavirus while you are in the UK.

Your travel provider, or the transport hub you travel through, may have COVID-19 rules in place. For example they may require or advise you to wear a face covering.

You should follow any COVID-19 rules and guidance from:

• your travel provider – airline, ferry, coach or train company
• the transport venue – airport, port, coach or railway station

There are currently no red list restrictions in place for travel to England.

Other countries have rules about what you must do to travel there from England.

Read separate guidance about what you need to do to travel abroad from England.