Your questions answered: Everything you need to know on quarantine-free foreign holidays after lockdown

What countries can I go to without having to quarantine?

Any country on the Government’s “green” or “amber” list is currently free from the requirement for you to quarantine for 14 days on your return. The “green” list of the countries with the lowest rates of coronavirus may, however, have restrictions on your arrival there. For example, Australia and New Zealand have effectively closed their borders to overseas visitors. You should check with either the embassy or your travel agent on the restrictions before you make your plans. "Amber" countries are the subject of reciprocal agreements which should mean quarantine-free travel on both legs of your journey.

Can I visit countries not on the green and amber lists?

All other countries will remain subject to the Foreign Office guidance barring all but essential travel and have been placed on a “red” list. This means that if you travel to these countries, you may not be able to get travel insurance and they are likely to have higher rates of coronavirus and/or less effective social distancing measures or health services, posing a risk to health. You will also have to go into quarantine for 14 days on your return to the UK

When can I go on holiday?

You can go on holiday to countries on the “green” or “amber” list as soon as the Foreign Office lifts its ban on non-essential travel which is due on Saturday, July 4. This means you will be able to get regular insurance to travel. However, if you come back to the UK before Friday July 10, when the quarantine measures in England are due to be lifted for green and amber countries, you will have to self-isolate until Friday.

Are there any risks going to an “amber” or “green” country?

All people returning to the UK, whether from a “red” list country or “green” or “amber” lists, will have to fill out the Government’s locator form, giving your UK address, countries visited, passport and contact details, basic personal information. If during your trip, you travel to a “red” list country, for example, to spend a day in Lisbon while visiting Spain, then you will automatically become liable for quarantine. If there is an outbreak during your trip to a country which leads to the country being rated a higher Coronavirus risk, its “green” or “amber” status will be immediately rescinded. This means you will have to quarantine for 14 days on your return.

To which home nations do the rules apply?

The lists of countries currently only apply to people resident in England as the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have refused to endorse them. They are currently considering their positions and may issue their own lists of countries. This means they may decide to apply quarantine to people resident in the three nations who fly abroad to “barred” countries on their lists. Most commentators believe it will be very difficult to enforce this or prevent holidaymakers crossing the border to fly abroad from English airports. Border control is a UK Home Office responsibility so any quarantine imposed by the administrations would have to be administered by their public health authorities and police. Police Scotland are currently not issuing fines, while the country’s police federation said enforcement was a “non-starter.”

Are there other loopholes if I fly to a “red” list country?

There have been suggestions that travellers from a red list country returning to the UK could circumvent quarantine by returning through a third “amber” or “green” list country. However, you are required to declare on the Home Office form your travel in the previous 14 days. There are spot checks at the border, which can result in a £100 fine if you are caughting making a false declaration or refuse to fill out the form. So far, just two people have been fined, suggesting a light touch approach combined with high rates of compliance. You face a £1,000 fine if you fail to self-isolate for 14 days although the only checks are done over the phone by Public Health England contractors who will call out the police if your answers raise suspicions.