From Monday, the Government are introducing tough new measures and enforcement rules for people travelling to the UK to prevent importing new variants from abroad.

Currently, passengers coming into the UK from anywhere in the world are required to present a negative test result and quarantine for 10 days on arrival as well as completing a Passenger Locator Form, with enforcement checks by Border Force and the police.

But from Monday we are going further: all UK arrivals will undergo enhanced testing, mandated COVID-19 tests on day 2 and day 8 of quarantine, on top of the negative test required before departure, and arrivals from a country on our travel ban list will need to purchase a quarantine package and isolate in an approved hotel for 10 days. Bookings will be made through a dedicated online portal and the charge for a single adult will be less than £1,750.

New, enhanced penalties for those who fail to follow the rules or lie about where they’ve been of up to £10,000 or 10 years in prison will ensure people comply. These measures will ensure people who need to enter the country don’t present a risk to others, safeguarding the progress we have made and strengthening our protection against new variants from abroad.

For more information on the strengthened health protection at borders, including more details on the new enhanced penalties and what is included in the quarantine package, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-introduce-tougher-measures-and-enforcement-rules-for-quarantined-passengers.

To view the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s full statement to Parliament on the new system of health measures at the border that will come into force on Monday 15 February, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/strengthening-our-health-protection-at-the-border.