Freer travel to the UK for families

On 22 November 2021, the UK will add WHO EUL vaccines to its list of recognised vaccines, opening the door to many more travellers and students who might have otherwise found it too challenging to get to the UK. All under-18s will be treated as “fully vaccinated,” which will make it much easier for them as well to enter the country without onerous challenges.

In important news for agents and students focused on study in the UK, there is new travel and border guidance from the British government: “From 4:00 am Monday 22 November, COVID-19 vaccines on the WHO Emergency Use List (EUL) will be recognised and all under-18s coming to England will be treated as fully vaccinated at the border.”

Newly recognised vaccines are therefore Sinovac, Sinopharm Beijing, and Covaxin, which will open the door to fully vaccinated students coming from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and India. These WHO EUL vaccines join Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca (including Covishield), Moderna, and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) as approved vaccines in the UK.

Regarding the new treatment of all under-18s as “fully vaccinated,” this means that under-18s will not have to self-isolate upon arrival. The government states: “They will only be required to take 1 post-arrival test and a confirmatory free PCR test if they test positive.” This news is obviously very important for the many UK educators whose specialisation is the Junior student market.

Find 2-day lateral flow providers here: https://www.find-travel-test-provider.service.gov.uk/providers#list-of-test-providers