Britain finally saw India retaliate by invoking the same measure from this Monday (October 4), ending a long and bitter standoff between the two countries.
From October 11, Indian travelers who have received either Covishield or UK-approved doses Vaccination You can travel without quarantine for at least 14 days before arriving in the UK.
They will neither be required to take the pre-departure examination nor will they have to appear on the 8th day after their arrival. Now, people in the know say that travelers who have got Covidshield in India will need one, among other things, from next Monday. covid Test on Day 2 which may also be a less expensive “lateral flow” test and not RT-PCT.
British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis tweeted on Thursday night: “There is no quarantine for Indian travelers going to the UK with a fully Kovidshield or UK-approved vaccine from October 11. Thanks to the Indian government for the close cooperation over the past month ”
The UK’s decision came hours after Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi described the UK’s earlier decision to completely isolate Indians with Covid-19 as “discriminatory”.
He clarified to journalists that India’s reciprocal actions for UK citizens coming to India had begun on 4 October. Now the UK finally sees reason, which included the date of birth of vaccinated individuals in dd-mm-yy format in its vaccination certificates, the UK likely to reverse its recent decision to halt arrivals.
I’m also making changes so that travelers going to England have lower entry requirements, by fully identifying them… https://t.co/bGZaDsU8yz
— Honorable Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) 1633623797000
“…it will be easier and cheaper to enter the UK…. We have actually been open to Indian travelers for months now. We are issuing thousands of visas to students, business travelers, tourists. … some of the noise about this issue over the past few weeks just shows how eager people are to travel to the UK. So let’s move on now. Let’s open more flights between the two countries. Let’s enable the British tourists to come to India they are desperate to do. Let us facilitate the business travelers who are trying to come to India with e-Visa. This is another step down the road set by PM Modi and PM Johnson when they agreed in May for a comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries, Ellis said in a video message.
Visa applications from Indian travelers are under process for all categories and one does not need to be vaccinated to travel to the UK. Travelers arriving from India who have not been fully vaccinated with a UK-accredited vaccine must undergo a pre-departure test; a COVID-19 2 days or earlier test; And another test after 8 days or so, and self-isolate for 10 days. Such travelers can also choose to shorten their home quarantine by about 5 days under the Test to Release service.
Britain’s Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps tweeted on Thursday night: “I am making changes so that travelers going to England are treated by identifying and treating people with full immunization status from 37 new countries and territories, including India, Turkey and Ghana. while having fewer entry requirements. Just like the UK fully vaccinated travelers…”
The UK has switched to a new system from 4 October, where it has a red list of countries (with a high incidence of Covid) and a non-red list.
Fully immunized with WHO-approved jabs from several non-Red List countries have now avoided quarantine and expensive recurring COVID tests upon arrival in the UK.
While India is a non-redlisted country, the UK had not yet accepted India’s CovidShield vaccine certification, due to which travelers to India (if they had received their CovidShield here) were considered unvaccinated and costly COVID-19. Had to undergo 10-day quarantine with Testing on arrival days 2 and 8. India had retaliated by imposing similar conditions on those coming from Britain from this Monday.
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