The United Kingdom has confirmed that its red list will be reduced from 54 countries to just 7, at 4am on Monday, 11 October 2021.

The seven countries which will remain on the red list are: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.

The 47 countries being removed from the red list are: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Congo (Democratic Republic), Costa Rica, Cuba, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Rwanda, Reunion, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary, said, "With half-term and winter sun around the corner, we’re making it easier for families and loved ones to reunite, by significantly cutting the number of destinations on the red list, thanks in part to the increased vaccination efforts around the globe. Restoring people’s confidence in travel is key to rebuilding our economy and levelling up this country. With less restrictions and more people traveling, we can all continue to move safely forward together along our pathway to recovery."

It is now much easier for eligible travellers to enter the UK and visit beautiful places like Conwy Castle in North Wales. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com Click to enlarge.

Eligible fully vaccinated passengers and eligible under 18s returning from countries and territories not on the red list, can do so with just a day 2 test without being required to enter hotel quarantine.

Travellers who are not fully vaccinated with an authorised vaccine returning from a non-red destination must still take a pre-departure test, a day 2 and day 8 test, as well as complete 10 days of self-isolation with the option of Test to Release on day 5.

Also from 4am on Monday, eligible travellers vaccinated in over 37 new countries and territories including Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey, will also be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents, so long as they have not visited a red list country or territory in the 10 days before arriving in England.

Earlier this week, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office made it easier for travellers to get travel insurance by lifting advice against all but essential travel for the following countries and territories: Algeria, American Samoa, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, French Polynesia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Senegal, Solomon Islands, São Tomé and Príncipe, Togo, Tokelau & Niue, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

More advisories will be removed as countries and territories come off the red list, making it easier for people to be covered by insurance when travelling to a wider list of destinations.

From late October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers including under 18s returning from a rest of world country will have the option to replace their day 2 test with a cheaper lateral flow test, followed by a free PCR test if positive, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England.

Passengers taking postal tests will be able to send a picture of their lateral flow test as a minimum requirement to verify the test result, with the ambition remaining to have this in place for people returning from half-term breaks by the end of the month.