arriving in the UK - testing requirements, advice and assistance

If you have been in or through any country on the travel ban red list in the previous 10 days, you will be refused entry to the UK unless you are a British or Irish National or if you have residence rights in the UK.

Students with the right to reside in the UK who are returning to the UK from a “red list” country are able to quarantine at their UK boarding school if they are under the age of 18. They must be ready to present; a copy of a letter from The Department for Education to the their school confirming that they are covered by an exception. They must also carry a letter from their school addressed to them which confirms that the school is able to meet requirements set out in the above DfE letter.

Students arriving from red list countries cannot use the Test to Release Scheme.

It may be possible for parents of Under-18s arriving from red list countries who are not able to quarantine at school to apply for a Visitor Visa so they can accompany them and enter hotel quarantine with them. Click here to view the full guidance.

See our travel checklist below, for students arriving from our via red list countries.

Before travel to England

• take a COVID-19 PCR test - children aged 12 and over must take a test in the 2 days before they travel
• complete a passenger locator form
• book and pay for a day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 PCR test
  

On arrival in England

• take a COVID-19 PCR test on or before day 2 and on or before day 8 of your arrival.
• quarantine for 11 days at school or in a managed government hotel. Under-18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Students cannot access the Test to Release Scheme

Over-18s must be vaccinated in one of the listed countries or territories with approved vaccination programmes below, in order to avoid longer periods of quarantine.

Students will qualify as fully vaccinated if they are vaccinated either:

• under an approved Covid vaccination programme.
• with a full vaccination course from a relevant public health body within a country with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination.

Showing your vaccination status

You must be able to prove that you have been fully vaccinated (plus 14 days) with a document (digital or paper-based) from a national or state-level public health body that includes, as a minimum:

• forename and surname(s)
• date of birth
• vaccine brand and manufacturer
• date of vaccination for every dose
• country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer

If your document from a public health body does not include all of these, you must follow the non-vaccinated rules. If not, you may be denied boarding. If you are fully vaccinated in the USA, you will also need to prove that you are a resident of the USA.

Over-18s arriving into England from countries not on the red list, are required to quarantine for 10 days if they are not vaccinated as part of a recognised vaccination programme.

Before travel to England

• take a COVID-19 PCR test - children aged 12 and over must take a test in the 2 days before they travel
• complete a passenger locator form
• book and pay for a day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 PCR test

On arrival in England

•  take a COVID-19 PCR test on or before day 2 and on or before day 8 of your arrival.
• quarantine for 10 days at school or with a Bright World host family. You can access the Test to Release Scheme

The government in Scotland has announced the end of the current traffic light system and its replacement with a single red list and simplified travel arrangements for everyone else.

For students arriving at schools in Wales please refer to the relevant guidance below;

Wales: https://gov.wales/rules-foreign-travel-and-wales-coronavirus-covid-19-html

Online check-in

Where possible, check in online to avoid face-to-face contact at the airport.

You are strongly encouraged to check in baggage to the aircraft hold and minimise any hand baggage. This will speed up boarding and disembarking and minimise the risk of transmission.

Arriving at the airport

Enter the airport on your own, if you are confident enough, unless you are flying with members of your household or support bubble, where relevant. You must wear a face covering in enclosed areas of airports in England unless you are aged under 11 years or you have an illness or impairment which prohibits you from wearing your mask safely. You must wear a face covering in all areas of airports in Scotland. You may be asked to wear a face covering in airports in Northern Ireland and Wales.

At check-in

Where possible, avoid touching surfaces in the airport. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after using self-service check-in, luggage trollies and other frequently touched surfaces.

Depending on the airport you fly from and where you are flying to, you may need to have your temperature checked before flying.

At the departure lounge/ terminal airside area/ arrival areas

Avoid walking around the airport and mixing with people that you do not normally meet. In shops at the airport, wear a face covering, follow social distancing measures and, where possible, pay by contactless card.

On board the aircraft

Your airline will advise you on measures in place for your flight. In England and Scotland passengers must wear a face covering on board aircraft unless you are exempt from this.

You can remove your face covering to:

• communicate with someone who relies on lip reading
• avoid harm or injury
• take medication
• eat or drink, if reasonably necessary

During the flight, you should:

• remain seated as much as possible
• follow instructions and guidance from the crew
• use contactless payment where possible
• be aware there is likely to be a reduced food and drink service
• make the cabin crew aware if you become ill

On arrival in the UK

On arriving in the UK, you must comply with border and immigration requirements.

You will need to show the QR code received following the completion of your Passenger Locator form on arrival at the UK border, either by printing a copy, or showing it on your phone. You may also need to show proof of a negative Covid test, depending on where you have travelled from.

Finding your driver

Please remember to switch your phone on and make sure it is charged up so we can contact you.

Leave the airport as quickly as possible. Access to the terminal is limited to passengers, crew members and staff. Your Bright World Driver will be waiting for you with a yellow Bright World board. Call their number if you can't find them and if they don't answer call the Bright World emergency number you will have with you.

As part of our six-point plan for Covid-Safe guardianship, we have been putting plans in place here at Bright World and with our partner transfer companies to ensure that taxi transfers will be as low-risk as possible. 

All our partner transfer companies have agreed to uphold our Covid-19 Driver and Passenger Safety Policy so we can reassure parents that Covid-safety as well as road-safety will be our drivers' top priority. 

When our students arrive at the airport students will need to maintain their distance of at least 1 metre from the driver and drivers will be wearing masks, so it will be more important than ever for our students to look for our yellow Bright World name boards. We ask our students to also wear their own masks or face coverings at all times wherever possible, as this helps to protect others around them, as well, including their drivers. 

Drivers will still help students with heavy luggage if needed, but students will be asked to leave the airport as quickly as possible, to avoid unnecessary contact with others, and head to the car. Once at the car, both students and drivers should sanitize their hands before entering. 

Another point on our policy states that cars will be regularly cleaned during the shifts, with hard surfaces that could harbour the virus being wiped down regularly with anti-bacterial and anti-viral products, so parents and students can be fully satisfied that the car will be as clean as possible. 

In order to keep the cars clean and avoid infection risk, we do ask students to avoid eating in the car; if students need to stop for a comfort break or for food or drink this is fine, but we would again ask that these breaks are as short as possible to avoid unnecessary contact with other people. Each time the student and driver leave and re-enter the car they should sanitise their hands again. 

If you are going straight from the airport to school and are using a Bright World driver, we will have sent your school all the details about your arrival. When you arrive at school then follow their joining instructions they will have sent to you beforehand.

If you are quarantining with a host family or at one of our residential quarantine locations until your test result comes back negative on arrival, we will make them fully aware of your estimated arrival time at school along with all the driver details.