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BRITS IN ITALY

Do Brits living in Italy still have to quarantine on trips to the UK?

The British government on Thursday announced a relaxation of its quarantine rules for fully vaccinated travellers - but not for most Brits who live abroad.

Published: 8 July 2021 15:58 CEST
Do Brits living in Italy still have to quarantine on trips to the UK?
Vaccinated English holidaymakers can now skip quarantine when returning home, but what about Brits living abroad? Photo: Iakovos HATZISTAVROU/AFP

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced on Thursday that, from July 19th, people visiting amber list countries including Italy would no longer have to quarantine on arrival back in England, as long as they were fully vaccinated.

However this exemption is not extended to the majority of UK nationals who live in Italy.

UPDATE: What rules do European countries have for travellers from the UK?

They will still have to quarantine when visiting friends or family in the UK, even if they are fully vaccinated.

Shapps said the exemption was for “residents returning to England”.

The Department for Transport confirmed to The Local that this exemption is for anyone who was vaccinated in the UK or part of a UK clinical trial on vaccines.

This means that any UK nationals living in Italy who had their jabs in Britain can travel quarantine-free. 

However, those vaccinated in Italy will still face a 10-day quarantine if they want to travel to the UK to visit friends and family, as well as needing to pay around £160 for the compulsory travel testing package.

How do Brits in Italy feel about this?

British citizens resident in Italy and other countries reacted with anger and dismay to the news that they would not be exempt from the UK’s quarantine requirement, describing the decision to exclude them as “unfair” and “very hard to understand’.

“I’m just frustrated by all these twists and turns and the rule changes. I haven’t been home in two years, my mum and aunt are elderly, my godmother is very sick with cancer, but I am constantly trapped in this heart versus head decision,” said Emma Raymond in Bologna.

“It’s been the hardest year and this is just awful. I’ve played by every rule, I’ve been vaxxed. But it doesn’t seem to make a difference.”

Some pointed out that they were reluctant to travel home due to the costs and the rising infection rate in England.

“To be honest, I don’t feel England has the pandemic under control either with rising numbers and large crowds gathering without masks which makes me even more anxious,” said Freya in Rome, who has not been back to the UK for two years.

“Whilst I’m desperate to see my family, in September my sister is getting married, it has to be safer, cheaper and without the heavy quarantine period.”

There was added frustration for British nationals in Italy following the news on Wednesday that UK authorities had also agreed to let up to 1,000 football fans travel quarantine-free from Italy to London for Sunday’s Euro 2020 final.

“This is so unfair, I am waiting to be able to go and see my family who I haven’t seen in over 18 months without quarantining, but they’re letting football fans in – what a joke,” said reader Stacey Incardona on Facebook.

What are Italy’s rules on travel from the UK?

As of June 21st, Italy requires arrivals from the UK to quarantine for five days on arrival and show two negative coronavirus test results.

People who were vaccinated in Italy can travel anywhere within the EU or Schengen zone using the EU digital vaccine passport. 

The UK is not currently part of the scheme, but talks are ongoing to allow mutual recognition of vaccine passports between the EU and the UK.

READ ALSO: How should travellers from the UK quarantine in Italy?

A European Commission source told The Local: “When it comes to the UK, the talks are ongoing at the technical level and are progressing well and going in the right direction. This is in particular because technically speaking the EU’s and the UK’s architectures are aligned.”

Italy meanwhile is already allowing travellers from the US, Canada and Japan to enter the country under the terms of the EU digital passport scheme.

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The government is working on the assumption that the system will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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