Updated COVID testing advice for families

The MyHealthChecked Guide to the new travel rules

The summer holidays are coming up, and the world is opening up. If you’re considering overseas travel – to visit family, or just for fun – it can be challenging to understand the changing rules when it comes to COVID testing, especially when little ones are involved. Here’s our guide to the new rules for COVID testing for families to clear things up.

In this guide, you’ll discover which COVID tests you need to take and when. It covers whether children and vaccinated adults are exempt from testing, and where you can travel back into England without testing.

Important:

This guide focuses on the requirements of the UK Government for your return journey (i.e. when you return to the UK). Please carefully check the specific requirements of your destination country before you travel. Requirements vary from country to country and include guidance for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated visitors, and may or may not include Fit to Fly PCR tests, or alternative COVID tests. The best resource to see travel regulations for foreign countries is the UK Government Foreign Travel Advice page.

How do I work out which tests we need?

When it comes to COVID testing, there are four things to consider: where you are returning from, who is traveling, your vaccination status and which tests you will need.

If you are going on holiday (i.e.: leaving the UK and returning), you will need to arrange testing requirements according to the travel regulations of your destination country. You may need to do a fit to fly test before departing. Tests need to be arranged with a private test provider. The NHS cannot provide tests safe for travel. MyHealthChecked offers reliable PCR fit to fly tests (with a fit to fly certificate) and antigen fit to fly tests (with a fit to fly certificate) with quick turnarounds for travelers departing from the UK.

There are no testing requirements for when you return to the UK, regardless of your vaccination status.

However, this depends if your destination is on the red list or not. Here is a step-by-step guide of what to do.

STEP ONE: Check the status of your planned destination – is it ‘Non-Red’ or ‘Red’?

STEP TWO: Check the latest Government guidelines for your destination country to work out who needs what. The best resource to see travel regulations for foreign countries is the UK Government Foreign Travel Advice page.

STEP THREE: Be prepared for change. COVID 19 rules can change fast, so before you book, make an emergency plan for what you would do if your destination changes status.

STEP FOUR: Book your tests – then travel safely and have fun!