Northern Ireland removes all countries from travel red list

Northern Ireland has removed all countries from its Red List for travel in line with a decision taken by all UK regions following a meeting of Ministers. The red list was reintroduced in late November as a precaution after the emergence of the Omicron variant. The move came into effect from 4am on Wednesday 15th December.

The red list, which was reintroduced in late-November, forces 11 nights of hotel quarantine upon everyone who arrives from those countries at a cost of £2,285 for solo travellers, regardless of their vaccination status. Other border measures, brought in as a response to the Omicron variant, will remain in place. All travellers entering the UK are required to take a pre-departure test, and to self-isolate until they receive a negative result from a post-arrival PCR test, even if they are fully vaccinated. The travel sector has been criticising the use of the red list, urging the government to relax the strict border controls so the industry can resume its recovery following numerous coronavirus lockdowns. The removal of the countries from the Red list will be implemented by way of an amendment to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) Regulations (NI) 20201. The 11 countries to be removed from the red list are Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Pre-Departure Testing (PDT) for vaccinated arrivals over 12 year olds in the 48 hours prior to starting the first leg of their journey to Northern Ireland remain in place as does the requirement for vaccinated non-red list arrivals to self-isolate and take a day 2 PCR test. Arrivals must also remain in isolation until either they get a negative result from the day 2 PCR test or they remain in self-isolation for 10 days from their arrival in Northern Ireland if their day 2 test result is positive.