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Travel to UK: Covid recovered plus single dose still not considered ‘fully vaccinated’

Travellers to the UK who have recovered from Covid-19 before receiving a single dose of a vaccine are still not considered fully vaccinated by the British government and therefor continue to face quarantine after arrival.

Published: 5 October 2021 15:59 CEST
A UK border sign welcomes passengers, but those who have recovered from Covid still face quarantine.
A UK border sign welcomes passengers, but those who have recovered from Covid still face quarantine. Photo by Ben FATHERS / AFP

The UK changed its much-criticised Covid border rules on Monday October 4th.

While the government finally accepted that those with mixed doses of two Covid-19 vaccines – such as Astra-Zeneca and Pfizer – will now be considered fully vaccinated, the same was not so clear for those who have recovered from the disease.

In recent days The Local has received many messages from readers wondering if the policy had changed because the text on the government’s website had been updated and no longer contained any explicit mention that those who received one dose after recovering from Covid were not considered fully vaccinated.

But a spokesperson for the Department of Transport confirmed to The Local on Tuesday that there had been no change in policy regarding those travellers who had recovered from Covid.

The government’s “background info” for the new travel rules state: 

  • “There has been no change to the UK’s policy regarding natural immunity. Individuals must be fully vaccinated (plus 14 days) to qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to England, irrespective of proof of recent recovery from COVID-19.
  • Fully vaccinated means that you have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days. The vaccine must be administered under either: the UK vaccination programme or an approved overseas vaccination programme in a listed country. See further info on gov.uk here.
  • The government will continue to assess the risk posed by people with natural immunity as we review the health measures in place and look at whether there is evidence to support any measures being eased.

In many European countries those who had Covid were only advised to get one dose of a vaccine. In these countries that is considered as fully vaccinated for the purposes of travel.

The UK policy has effectively meant thousands of “fully vaccinated” travellers from Europe have faced having to quarantine for 10 days in the UK.

This has forced many to seek out a second dose of the vaccine while others have reportedly lied on the “passenger locator form”, needed for entry into the UK by saying they had received two doses. Anyone found to have lied on their passenger locator form faces a hefty fine, however.

The EU’s Covid vaccination certificates normally only contain the date of the final injection.

Reader question: I received a single vaccine dose after recovering from Covid – what are my travel options?

Member comments

  1. Word of Warning! Anyone who has been double vaccinated in Germany and travelling to the UK should switch of the “Location” function on their smartphone!!!
    If you are double vaccinated in Germany, this will be fine to get you into the country BUT the information supplied on the Passenger Locator form will be used to enrol you in the UK NHS Track and Trace system (without your permission)
    I was pinged on a week’s trip to the UK, 2 days before I was due to fly back to Germany.
    People who are double vaccinated in the UK by the NHS are exempt from 10 days self-isolation. If you are double vaccinated in Germany (with exactly the same vaccine e.g BionTech/Pfizer) this is not recognized and you are legally obliged to self-isolate!!!
    I had to break the law (and risk a minimum GBP 1,000 fine, as well as being pulled off my plane) in order to get home to Germany where, of course, the Authorities were very happy to let me in with my Impfpass

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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