Fiona Govan
IN A development that has been keenly hoped for by those British expats desperately keen to fly home and visit family without having to self-isolate, the UK’s vaccine minister said the government was poised to relax restrictions.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccines minister, told the House of Commons that the government was working hard on a scheme to offer quarantine free conditions to those who have been fully vaccinated abroad.
“We want to offer the same reciprocity as the 33 countries that recognise our app and that will also happen very soon,” he said without committing to a deadline.
He also commented that by the end of the month those Brits who had been vaccinated overseas could get a waiver on quarantine if they had it verified by their GP back in the UK.
However as many long term expats are no longer registered with health services in the UK few who have settled permanently abroad would benefit from this step.
“By the end of this month, UK nationals who have been vaccinated overseas will be able to talk to their GP, go through what vaccine they have had and have it registered with the NHS that they have been vaccinated,” he said, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.
“The reasons for the conversation with the GP is to make sure that whatever vaccine they have had is approved in the UK. Ultimately there will be co-ordination between the WHO, ourselves, the European regulator and US regulator and other regulators around the world.”
The exemption from quarantine for those arriving from amber list countries currently only applies to people who were vaccinated in the UK and have an NHS covid certificate or digital pass.
Brits living in Spain have expressed fury at being left off the exemption to quarantine when arriving in England from an amber list country and remain baffled at the reason why the UK won’t recognise jabs administered in the EU.
READ MORE:
- ANALYSIS: Is Spain next for the UK’s ‘amber plus’ travel list?
- Brits living in Spain ‘furious’ that new quarantine exemption doesn’t apply to those vaccinated outside UK
- LATEST: Tourism boost for Spain as UK drops quarantine rules for NHS vaccinated travellers from July 19
