The UK Government recently brought in legislation which means that people leaving the country for non-essential purposes are facing a £5000 fine.
However, there is a foreign travel “loophole” that will allow people to travel outside of the UK if they need to travel abroad to prepare their second home for sale, letting or rental purposes.
This loophole has been nicknamed the “Stanley Johnson” clause after Boris Johnson’s father travelled to Greece last summer. He defended his foreign travel, which was felt by many to be non-essential, by saying he had only travelled to Greece to “Covid-proof” his holiday home.
The new exemption to the ban on leaving the country without a valid reason states that any foreign travel “in connection with the purchase, sale, letting or rental of a residential property” will be seen as “essential business”.
This clause also covers tasks such as
- Visiting an estate agent
- Visiting a show home
- Visiting a developer sales office
- Preparing a property to move in
- Viewing properties to rent or buy
If you are planning to travel abroad for essential reasons, then you will need to take one of our PCR tests containing a Fit to Fly Certificate. This can be shown to airlines as proof that you are not carrying the virus – providing you achieve a negative result.
