London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025

Covid travel: Seven locations moved to Covid travel green list

Covid travel: Seven locations moved to Covid travel green list

Canada and Denmark are among seven countries moving to the green list in the latest changes to Covid restrictions.

Thailand and Montenegro are being added to the UK government's red list - meaning they are considered to be among the highest-risk destinations.

Finland, the Azores, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Lithuania are also moving to the green list.

The changes will come into force at 04:00 BST on Monday.

Travellers coming from green list countries do not have to quarantine when they come back to the UK - whether or not they have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine. They still have to be tested before leaving the UK however and upon their return, and fill in a passenger location form.

But while Canada is on the green list, it currently has a ban on British nationals entering the country.

Only UK or Irish nationals, or UK residents, are allowed in to the UK if they have been to red list countries. They then have to pay to self-isolate in a government-approved quarantine hotel.

The Department for Transport said the changes were being made to the red list to reflect "the increased case rates in these countries and the higher risk that travel from these countries poses to UK public health".

Travel lists are currently updated every three weeks. Most countries are on the amber list - fully-vaccinated adults do not have to quarantine on their return from these locations, but do have to have tests before leaving and when they get back. Those who have not had both vaccines have to isolate at home for 10 days, as well as having the Covid tests.

From 04:00 on Monday, only UK and Irish nationals or residents can travel back from Thailand

Airlines UK, which represents UK-registered carriers, said the "small number of green destinations" was making international travel "more expensive, burdensome and uncertain compared to other countries".

A spokesman said: "Too many families are having to look over their shoulders for rule changes and pay through the nose for tests, with no sign from government that this will change.

"As has already happened across Europe, it's time for a more proportionate system where tests are dropped for the fully-vaccinated and from destinations where Covid risks are low, with tougher measures targeted at a small number of high risk countries."

Sean Doyle, British Airways' chairman and CEO, reacted to the travel changes by saying "the UK's economic recovery remains far behind our more pragmatic European neighbours". He added: "We also need to urgently end the uncertainty caused by the constant threat of changes to countries' traffic light status.

"Our green list is much smaller than that of the US and EU, despite no new variants being transported into the UK."

Charlie Cornish, chief executive of Manchester Airports Group which operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, said the changes to the travel traffic light system will make "little difference" to the recovery of the travel industry and called on the government to "overhaul" it.

He said unless the government removed the need for fully-vaccinated people to take tests, it would "continue to squander the advantage our world-leading vaccination programme was supposed to deliver".

Shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon warned "any loosening of restrictions carries with it risks, particularly from variants that could undermine the progress we have made on vaccines".

Scotland's Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said the changes were "welcome for Scots with loved ones in Canada but once again show that international travel remains challenging".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
×