New Health Measures at the UK Borders 

Due to take affect from 8 June 2020

As per the Prime Minister’s announcement on 10 May 2020, the UK government has now set out the measures that will take place for British Citizens, long-terms residents as well as visitors to the UK. 

Note that this measures applies to all arrivals to the UK which includes by land travel. 

Entering the UK:

• All arriving passengers will be required to fill in a contact locator form to provide contact and travel information so they can be contacted if they, or someone they may have been in contact with develops the disease.
   
• Border Force officers will undertake spot checks at the border. Those found not to have completed the online form will be asked to. If they refuse, they may receive a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100 in England.
   
• The UK Government will also require all those entering the UK, who are not on an approved list of exemptions, to self-isolate in their accommodation for fourteen days from arrival into the UK.
   
• Where those arriving are unable to demonstrate where they would self-isolate, they may be required to do so in accommodation arranged by the Government.
   
• Self-isolating for 14 days means that people should as far as possible not leave the place they are staying for 14 days, (e.g. they may leave in an emergency, for medical treatment, to buy food ((if this cannot be brought to them)); to attend a funeral of a close relative). They should not have visitors, including friends and family, unless they are providing essential care.
   
• Enforcement action will be taken against the minority of people who endanger the safety of others.
   
• British citizens and foreign nationals who fail to comply with the mandatory self-isolation condition could face enforcement action, including a Fixed Penalty Notice of £1,000 in England or potential prosecution and unlimited fine. The Devolved Administrations will set out their own enforcement approaches.
   
• Public Health England are setting up an assurance and public health line that will call a random sample of UK arrivals to make sure they have advice they need and check they are self-isolating.
   
• Everyone entering the UK will also be strongly advised to download and use the NHS contact tracing app once live. This should be downloaded at the border.
   
• The Government will continue to look at further options as we move forward and these will include air bridges – agreements between countries who both have low transmission rates to recognise each other’s departure screening measures for passengers and removing the need for quarantine measures for incoming passengers

Exemptions:

• Those travelling to the UK from Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man will not need to complete the online contact locator form or self-isolate for 14 days.
   
• A very small group will be exempt from providing a contact detail declaration. This includes diplomats, defence personnel and contractors and officials working on border security.
   
• There will be limited exemptions to the requirement to self-isolate and a full list will be published on Gov.uk. They include where they are travelling to maintain essential supply chains, essential services or to contribute to the crisis response.

It is not clear how long these measures will last however the Government has assured that this measure will be reviewed regularly. 

We will continue to update any changes here on our site.

SINCERE IMMIGRATION