The green list of countries had its first review on Wednesday 3rd of June with an announcement of which countries got to keep their lightest restrictions for inbound travellers arriving in the UK, and which were going to be moved to the amber list with more rigorous restrictions.
The update was announced by the Department for Transport on the 3rd of June, with changes coming into effect on the 8th of June at 4 am.
In a major blow for many holidaymakers, Portugal, the one main holiday destination on the green list was moved to the amber list due to a doubling in the amount of COVID infections in the country as well as fears over “variants of concern”.
Foreign holidays have only just become legal in the UK from the 17th of May, with destinations assigned a colour of red, amber or green depending on the level of risk. Each colour also has its own varying degrees of restriction.
Countries on the green list have the lightest rules on arrival – with no quarantine needed. Travellers need to take one pre-departure test and one PCR test within two days of entering the UK – which makes the green list countries the most attractive holiday destinations. In fact, the UK government is currently advising against leisure travel to anywhere that is not classified as green.
However, many of the countries on the green list are still not welcoming British travellers. For example, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore have been given the thumbs up by the UK government but are still largely closed to international holidaymakers.
So, which green list tourist destinations can you actually currently go on holiday to?
Gibraltar
As of the 12th of April, Gibraltar had vaccinated all of its adult population – 64,931 people altogether.
In order to enter the country, arrivals from the UK must take a free lateral flow test at the airport and must not have been in any other country 14 days prior to arrival in Gibraltar.
Iceland
In a bid to boost tourism, Iceland recently announced that it would welcome back visitors who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 without the need for them to undergo quarantine or be tested for coronavirus.
Although both of these destinations are on the green list before travellers return to the UK they must produce a negative COVID test result – either antigen, lateral flow or PCR – and take a PCR test within two days of their arrival home.
