Explainer

Green or red? The holiday destinations you can and can't travel to from England

Every country not on the red list will be on the green list. Credit: AP

The amber list of travel destinations is no more after the government announced it was merging with the green list.

And the red list, which previously contained 62 countries, has been shortened to 54.

It means every country not on the red list will be on the green list.

Kenya, Oman, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Maldives, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh will be removed from the red list.

New travel rules: Amber list scrapped and changes to Covid tests

Other changes announced by the government will allow fully-vaccinated travellers returning from green list countries to avoid taking a pre-departure lateral flow test or a post-arrival PCR test - saving them around £100 per trip.

Travellers who have not had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine must quarantine for 10 days at home upon their arrival from a green list country and they need take a lateral flow test before they depart and a PCR test on day two and eight when they return.

They can pay for another PCR test on day five of quarantine for early release.

People arriving from red list countries will still be required to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of £2,285 for solo travellers.

The rule changes on testing will come on Monday, October 4, while traffic light changes will be made on Wednesday September 22, at 4am.

It is understood the government will still review the rules for each country every three weeks but they are expected to remain the same at least until the New Year.

It's important to note that just because a country is on the UK's green list, it doesn't necessarily mean the country is accepting UK citizens - so travellers are advised to check with the relevant country's government website for their latest rules on tourist arrivals.

- Red list in full:

  • Afghanistan

  • Angola

  • Argentina

  • Bolivia

  • Botswana

  • Brazil

  • Burundi

  • Cape Verde

  • Chile

  • Colombia

  • Congo (Democratic Republic)

  • Costa Rica

  • Cuba

  • Dominican Republic

  • Ecuador

  • Eritrea

  • Eswatini

  • Ethiopia

  • French Guiana

  • Georgia

  • Guyana

  • Haiti

  • Indonesia

  • Lesotho

  • Malawi

  • Mayotte

  • Mexico

  • Mongolia

  • Montenegro

  • Mozambique

  • Myanmar

  • Namibia

  • Nepal

  • Panama

  • Paraguay

  • Peru

  • Philippines

  • Réunion

  • Rwanda

  • Seychelles

  • Sierra Leone

  • Somalia

  • South Africa

  • Sudan

  • Suriname

  • Tanzania

  • Thailand

  • Trinidad and Tobago

  • Tunisia

  • Uganda

  • Uruguay

  • Venezuela

  • Zambia

  • Zimbabwe

- Green list in full:

  • Anguilla

  • Antarctica/British Antarctic Territory

  • Antigua and Barbuda

  • Austria

  • Australia

  • The Azores

  • Barbados

  • Bermuda

  • British Indian Ocean Territory

  • Brunei

  • Bulgaria

  • Canada

  • Cayman Islands

  • Croatia

  • Denmark

  • Dominica

  • Egypt

  • Falkland Islands

  • Faroe Islands

  • Finland

  • Germany

  • Gibraltar

  • Grenada

  • Hong Kong

  • Iceland

  • Israel and Jerusalem

  • Latvia

  • Liechtenstein

  • Lithuania

  • Madeira

  • Malta

  • Montserrat

  • Maldives

  • New Zealand

  • Oman

  • Norway

  • Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands

  • Romania

  • Singapore

  • Slovakia

  • Slovenia

  • South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

  • St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

  • Switzerland

  • Taiwan

  • Bangladesh

  • Turks and Caicos Islands

  • Akrotiri and Dhekelia

  • Albania

  • Algeria

  • Andorra

  • Armenia

  • Aruba

  • Azerbaijan

  • The Bahamas

  • Bahrain

  • Sri Lanka

  • Belarus

  • Belgium

  • Belize

  • Benin

  • Bhutan

  • Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • British Virgin Islands

  • Burkina Faso

  • Turkey

  • Cambodia

  • Cameroon

  • Central African Republic

  • Chad

  • China

  • Comoros

  • Pakistan

  • Congo

  • Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue

  • Côte d’Ivoire

  • Curaçao

  • Cyprus

  • Czech Republic (Czechia)

  • Djibouti

  • El Salvador

  • Equatorial Guinea

  • Estonia

  • Fiji

  • France

  • French Polynesia

  • Gabon

  • The Gambia

  • Ghana

  • Greece (including islands)

  • Greenland

  • Guadeloupe

  • Guatemala

  • Guinea

  • Guinea-Bissau

  • Honduras

  • Hungary

  • India

  • Iran

  • Iraq

  • Italy

  • Jamaica

  • Japan

  • Jordan

  • Kazakhstan

  • Kiribati

  • Kenya

  • Kosovo

  • Kuwait

  • Kyrgyzstan

  • Laos

  • Lebanon

  • Liberia

  • Libya

  • Luxembourg

  • Macao

  • Madagascar

  • Malaysia

  • Mali

  • Marshall Islands

  • Martinique

  • Mauritania

  • Mauritius

  • Micronesia

  • Moldova

  • Monaco

  • Morocco

  • Nauru

  • Netherlands

  • New Caledonia

  • Nicaragua

  • Niger

  • Nigeria

  • North Korea

  • North Macedonia

  • The Occupied Palestinian Territories

  • Palau

  • Papua New Guinea

  • Poland

  • Portugal

  • Qatar

  • Russia

  • Samoa

  • San Marino

  • Sao Tome and Principe

  • Saudi Arabia

  • Senegal

  • Serbia

  • Solomon Islands

  • South Korea

  • South Sudan

  • Spain, including the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands (Formentera, Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca)

  • St Kitts and Nevis

  • St Lucia

  • St Maarten

  • St Martin and St Barthélemy

  • St Pierre and Miquelon

  • St Vincent and the Grenadines

  • Sweden

  • Syria

  • Tajikistan

  • Timor-Leste

  • Togo

  • Tonga

  • Turkmenistan

  • Tuvalu

  • Ukraine

  • United Arab Emirates

  • United States (USA)

  • Uzbekistan

  • Vanuatu

  • Vatican City

  • Vietnam

  • Wallis and Futuna

  • Western Sahara

  • Yemen