UK Adds India To The Red Countries (Mandatory Hotel Quarantine)

The UK (England) has added India to the RED list of countries where arrivals by non-citizens and residents are banned.

All arrivals from April 23, 2021, at 4 AM, must go through a 10-night hotel quarantine at a government-approved facility. The UAE is also still on the RED list.

You can access UK’s page for Covid-19 and travel here.

Here’s the latest travel advice:

Red list travel ban countries

If you have been in or through any of the countries listed below in the previous 10 days, you will be refused entry to the UK.

If you are a British or Irish National, or you have residence rights in the UK, you will be able to enter. You must quarantine in a government approved hotel for 10 days.

• Angola
• Argentina
• Bangladesh
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Burundi
• Cape Verde
• Chile
• Colombia
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Ecuador
• Eswatini
• Ethiopia
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• India (will be added to the list 4am, Friday 23 April)
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Rwanda
• Seychelles
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Suriname
• Tanzania
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Updates to the list

Any upcoming updates to list and updates that happened within the last 10 days.

Countries added to the list

India will be added to the list 4am, Friday 23 April.

If you arrive in the UK from India before 4am Friday 23 April, you must self-isolate for 10 days in the place you’re staying and take a COVID-19 test on day 2 and day 8.

Find out how to self-isolate in the place you’re staying and book your coronavirus tests.

From 4am Friday 23 April, if you have been in India in the previous 10 days, you will only be allowed to enter the UK if you are a British, Irish or third-country national with residency rights. You will need to quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel.

Find out how to book a managed quarantine hotel and your coronavirus tests.

Conclusion

Countries can be added to the UK’s RED list with little advance notice that then requires 10-night quarantine at a government-approved hotel for those wishing to return to their home.

Alternatively, you can always choose to return through a non-RED country and spend the first ten nights roaming there free rather than be imprisoned at a quarantined hotel at Heathrow.

It doesn’t seem that the UK would have banned flights to/from India, just that airlines cannot transport non-nationals/residents.

Surprisingly, the UAE has not been removed from the RED countries considering how well their vaccination program has played out.