British expats who have received double-dose jabs are expected to be allowed back in the UK without having to quarantine from Sunday, as the government plans to recognise international vaccines from next week.
But the 120,000 strong community of British expats in the UAE may be forced to wait longer as the exemption only applies to countries that have recognised the UK’s NHS app.
Currently 33 different countries recognise Britain’s Covid-19 passport, and the UK is drafting plans to provide reciprocity, allowing double-jabbed travellers to visit Britain. However, the UAE is yet to recognise the UK’s NHS app.
Countries that currently recognise the NHS app include Spain, Greece, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal Hong Kong, Anguila, the Cayman Islands and Barbados.
The exemption for Brit expats currently only applies to travellers who are vaccinated under the UK programme, but ministers plan to recognise foreign jabs from August 1, The Daily Telegraph reported.
While the UK and the UAE both administer Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, Britain does not currently administer or approve the Sinopharm vaccine – which is widespread in the UAE, although the government is hoping to strike mutual deals with various nations to recognise a host of vaccinations and vaccine apps.
The UAE has been on the UK’s travel red list since January 29 this year. At the moment, British expats travelling from the UAE are forced to go into a 10-day quarantine on arrival in the UK at a cost of GBP1,750 per person, potentially rising to GBP2,250 in the coming weeks, according to reports.
Formal review
The UK’s Department of Transport (DfT) has committed to holding a formal review of the rules for arriving travellers this week.
A DfT spokesperson told Arabian Business: “As set out in the Global Travel Taskforce, we are working for a safe return to international travel and a formal review will take place at the next checkpoint no later than 31 July.”
Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association.
If the new ruling is approved, it could benefit about 300,000 British citizen expats living in eight of the main EU countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Clive Wratten, CEO of the Business Travel Association (BTA), told Arabian Business: “Reports that the UK government will finally recognise expats’ international vaccines are potentially a good first step for international business travel.”
The CEO said he is urgently awaiting further details form the British government about whether the scheme will be widened to include all travellers from amber and green list countries.
“More needs to be done to find safe ways to open up vital [airline] routes such as the UK–UAE which remains on the red list,” he said of the route that is currently losing millions of pounds in potential business each week.
John Grant, partner at aviation consultancy Midas Aviation.
John Grant, partner at aviation consultancy Midas Aviation, said: “As with everything the UK Government has done, the devil will be in the detail and the nuances that are applied, especially across the devolved administrations who can apply their own rules and regulations.
“It could, of course, lead to an immediate increase in flights from the UAE but demand will still need to build before we could get back to anything like historic levels of capacity.”
Grant said the potential new ruling was a “good step” but the requirement for expats to secure a letter or some form of validation to travel from their local GP is an “administrative burden open to abuse and also a waste of valuable time for GPs who could perhaps be better served doing other tasks”.
The Midas Aviation partner urged the UK Government to consider the need for a global level of standardisation rather than a piecemeal country-by-country approach.
Co-ordination
Speaking in the UK Commons last week, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi, said: “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.
“The reason for the conversation with the GP is to make sure that whatever vaccine they have had is approved in the United Kingdom.
“Ultimately, there will be a co-ordination between the World Health Organisation (WHO), ourselves, the European regulator, the US regulator and other regulators around the world.”
Over 70 countries are under review by government scientists for a possible move to the green list for quarantine-free foreign travel, according to reports.
The UK’s Joint Biosecurity Centre is understood to be reviewing the countries before ministers decide on a final list of new green destinations, due to be unveiled next week.
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