All UK nationals arriving in India from the UK will be subject to a 10-day quarantine period. The new travel guidelines will take effect on October 4th.

Following multiple threats of “reciprocal action” against the UK due to the country’s strict vaccine travel norms, New Delhi made it mandatory for UK passengers, regardless of vaccination status, to undergo a 10-day quarantine on Friday.

All passengers traveling from the United Kingdom to India must now carry a negative RT-PCR report and remain in mandatory quarantine for 10 days after arrival. This decision comes weeks after India remained engaged with the UK to recognize Covishield as a legitimate anti-Covid vaccine, as new UK travel rules made quarantine and a negative Covid-19 test mandatory for Indian travelers.

The new travel guidelines will take effect on October 4 and will apply to all UK nationals arriving from the UK.

From October 4, all UK nationals arriving in India from the UK, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to take the following steps:

• A pre-departure Covid-19 RT-PRC test should be performed within 72 hours of departure
• Arrivals must take a Covid-19 RT-PCR test on arrival at the airport
• Arrivals must take a Covid-19 RT-PCR test on Day 8 after arrival
• Mandatory quarantine at home or in the destination address for 10 days after arrival in India

The home ministry and the civil aviation ministry will work together to put the new measures in place.

In the last week of September, the United Kingdom announced changes to its travel and quarantine policies. The United Kingdom’s new international travel regulations essentially labeled fully vaccinated Indians as “unvaccinated,” requiring them to be quarantined for 10 days upon arrival. India was left out of the 18 countries on an approved vaccinations list, requiring

 Indians must follow the rules established for “non-vaccinated” travelers.

This means that, despite Covishield now being recognized as one of the UK’s eligible vaccine formulations, it would provide no benefit to Covishield-vaccinated Indian travelers planning a trip to the UK.

Travelers who have not been fully vaccinated, or who have been vaccinated in a country such as India that is not currently on the UK government’s approved list, must take a pre-departure test. They will need to self-isolate for 10 days after arriving in the UK. Under the ‘Test to Release’ service, travelers can also choose to reduce their home quarantine to around 5 days.

– India’s new age travel digital media