After initially refusing to recognise any Covid vaccine administered outside the UK, the British government now counts as 'fully vaccinated' for travel purposes people who had both doses of the vaccine in an EU or Schengen zone country.
That means that those fully vaccinated can enter the country without having to quarantine.
However, once in the country, if they are alerted by the Test and Trace service as a contact case, they will have to self-isolate for 10 days.
Fully-vaccinated people are exempt from the requirement to self-isolate if a contact case - but this only applies to people who received their vaccines in the UK. The Test and Trace programme refuses to recognise any vaccines administered outside the UK, meaning that anyone vaccinated in the EU faces a 10-day self-isolation period. The ten days are counted from the time of contact with the person who tested positive.
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The Local asked the Department for Transport how they could justify the different treatment of people who had received the exact same vaccines in different countries and were told: "If a person has been vaccinated abroad they are required to self-isolate if they test positive or have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive, even if they have received a vaccine equivalent to those approved by the MHRA for use in the UK.
"Our domestic verification process currently only recognises the vaccination status of individuals who received their vaccine in the UK. We continue to keep this under review."
Daily average of confirmed new cases of Covid per million people for the UK, plus the countries covered by The Local. Map: Our World in Data
The UK government rules also state that anyone who has Covid symptoms should self isolate for 10 days, unless they have had a negative Covid test. This applies to everyone, including people who were fully vaccinated in the UK or abroad.
Self-isolation can be done at a private address if you are staying with family or friends, but those staying in hotels or Airbnb face having to extend their stay and rearrange transport home while they complete their 10-day self-isolation.
New cases in the UK are currently running at an average of about 50,000 - by far the highest in western Europe - so coming into contact with an infected person while on a visit to the UK is not unlikely.
Although most people vaccinated in Europe can now travel to the UK without having to quarantine on arrival, the UK government does not recognise people who had a single dose after previously recovering from Covid - which is standard policy in many European countries - so people with this option will still have to quarantine.
Reader question: I've had one vaccine dose after recovery from Covid - what are my travel options?
Find more detail of the UK Test and Trace rules here.
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