Quarantine ??!!
 

Hi there,

I have a complicated question as I am student to be at the UK I have my student visa issued and i will be traveling from my home country to London on the 20th of February although my destination is Newcastle but due to the corona situation i wont be able to find any connecting flights on the same day so I will have to spend a day in London most probably in a hotel around the airport area to catch my flight to Newcastle the next day from London.

My question is there going to be any problems to spend a day (less than 24 hours) at a hotel without Quarantining in London? Noting that my 10 days quarantine will be at Newcastle at my student accommodation.

Thanks in advance

Moved to Europe Forum

No one knows the answer to your question. The rues haven't been totally laid out yet . . . including the starting date. You need to monitor various UK government and news websites to keep informed on the changing situation.

This is dated January 22nd, seems quite comprehensive:

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...avel-to-the-uk

It says: "When you arrive in England, you must travel directly to the place you are staying and not leave until 10 days have passed". Since you can't travel directly to Newcastle, looks to me that you will have to self-isolate in a hotel at Heathrow for the ten days.

This is stricter and dated January 27th: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/t...-public-health

However, the appropriate place to ask is not here, but at the UK embassy in your own country.

That link is from 6 days ago and explains the self isolation currently in effect. Starting at some near future date (as yet unknown but likely announced in the next few days) instead of self isolation they are moving to mandatory quarantine hotels paid for by the arriving traveler. The situation is very fluid.

There are other ways to get from London to Newcastle apart from flights, and indeed most destinations require travel by road or rail from the airport. You would then self isolate when you arrive at the final destination. Also check directly with your university, because it has just been announced that face-to-face education has been delayed until at least 8 March at the earliest:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e...emain-in-place

The countries from which a quarantine hotel will be required are mainly from South America and Southern Africa, plus Portugal in Europe, although that could change. If you are from one of those countries you would have to quarantine in a London hotel at your own expense. Check with the embassy in your own country before travelling as suggested above.

Just to confirm, things are changing very fast here so buy full flexible deals. Don't be surprised if the UK closes borders.

The best website for keeping up to date with the latest entry requirements for the UK is the GOV.UK one. You can find information about the COVID test you need to enter the UK and links to the passenger locator form which you need to complete before arrival into the UK.

As others have said, the requirements are changing very fast, from one day to the next in some cases. All the UK travel corridors have been suspended so in the best case scenario currently is that you need to self isolate for 10 days and the worst case is that you will be quarantined in an airport hotel at your own expense for 10 days depending where you are coming from. You can also sign up for the Test to Release scheme before you enter the UK, where you self isolate for 5 days then take a COVID test (which you pay for) and if it is negative, you can be released from self isolation. However this scheme only applies to countries where there isn't a travel ban, list on the below link.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/transpor...ns-of-covid-19