Non-essential international travel has been banned since the latest coronavirus lockdown began in January 2020.
As part of the easing of lockdown restrictions, the government is expected to confirm today that some foreign travel will be allowed from May 17.
The government is also expected to announce a so-called “green list” of destinations where Brits can travel without the need to quarantine.
If a country is on the “amber list”, it will mean travellers will need to quarantine when they return to the UK.
If a country is on the “red list”, it means Brits returning will need to quarantine for 10 days in government-approved hotels at the cost of £1,750 per person.
So what time will we know which countries on the green list? And what countries are expected to be on it? Here is all you need to know.
What time is green list travel announcement?
The announcement for which countries will be on the green list will be 5pm this evening, Friday, May 7.
The transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced a press conference, and is expected to provide a full list of green, amber and red countries.
You will be able to watch it live on BBC News and Sky News.
Trade Minister Liz Truss said: “People are looking to book a holiday but I would encourage people to wait until we make that announcement.
How will the traffic light system work?
Whether a country is green, amber or red will depend on the rate of Covid-19 infections, rate of vaccinations, the prevalence of any variants of concern and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
The lowest risk countries will be “green”, which means there will be more relaxed restrictions for travel.
People visiting green list countries will still have to take a test before travelling, as well as a gold-standard PCR test on or before day two fo your arrival back home.
For amber countries, returning travellers will need to quarantine for up to 10 days at home.
Those who are returning from red countries will need to book a 10-night stay at a quarantine, and still get tested on day two and day eight.
Which countries will be on the green list?
We don’t yet know which countries will be on the green list, but it will only include a handful of the safest countries, which Brits can travel to from May 17.
However, according to Telegraph Travel, eight countries are expected to make the green list today.
They are Iceland, Malta, Gibraltar, Israel, the US, New Zealand, Australia and Portugal.
But we will have to wait until the 5pm announcement to know for definite.
