New enforcement measures for travellers from banned countries will include a “quarantine package”, fixed penalty notices and imprisonment for non-compliance.

Tough new enforcement measures – from fixed penalty notices to imprisonment – will come into force on Monday 15 February, as the Health and Social Care Secretary set out details of the government’s new quarantine measures.

From 15 February all arrivals at English ports will be required to undertake 2 mandatory COVID-19 tests – on day 2 and day 8 of their 10-day quarantine. The new measures build on those already in place, which include refusing entry to people travelling from ‘red list’ countries, except for British or Irish nationals or those with UK residency rights. All passengers, no matter which country they have travelled from, are already required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 3 days before departure and must self-isolate on arrival. A passenger locator form must also be completed with fines for those who fail to comply.

From Monday, anyone arriving who has been in a country on the UK’s travel ban list in the previous 10 days will be required to purchase a quarantine package. Bookings will be made through a dedicated online portal and will include:

• assigned government transportation
• food and drinks
• accommodation in a government-approved facility
• security
• welfare
• testing

The charge for a single adult will be £1,750.

Before you travel you must:

• take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test and get a negative result during the 3 days before you travel. You must take the test in the 3 days before the service on which you will arrive in England departs. For example, if you travel directly to England on Friday, you must take the test on the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
• book a managed quarantine hotel where you will quarantine. Your quarantine package will include your managed quarantine hotel, quarantine transport and your travel test package for COVID-19 tests on day 2 and day 8 of quarantine
• complete a passenger locator form (PLF) with details of where you will quarantine when you arrive. You must provide a quarantine package booking reference number to complete your passenger locator form.

Use the booking portal to book your quarantine hotel package (this is administered by CTM)

You will need to agree to pay for, and book, a quarantine package before you complete your passenger locator form and board your return journey to the UK. The package includes the costs of transport from the port of arrival to the designated hotel, food, accommodation, security, other essential services and testing.

How much you’ll need to pay:

For those facing significant financial hardship as a result of this charge, there will be an opportunity to apply for a deferred repayment plan when booking. This is only available if you already receive income-related benefits, and you will be required to pay back your debt to the government in 12 monthly instalments.

There will be an additional fee if your quarantine is extended. The additional day rate specified above is applicable for those who have already stayed in quarantine for 10 days.

To ensure compliance, fines will be issued and will range from £5,000 rising to £10,000 for arrivals who fail to quarantine in a designated hotel. A £1,000 penalty will also be given to any international arrival who fails to take a mandatory test, followed by a £2,000 penalty to any international arrival who fails to take the second mandatory test. This will be accompanied by an automatic extension of the quarantine period to 14 days.

Passenger locator forms will now not only detail their travel journey but also their quarantine and testing package. Anyone attempting to conceal that they have travelled in a ‘red list’ country on their form could face a £10,000 fine or prosecution and up to 10 years in prison.

More information on booking a place in a quarantine hotel can be found here.

Where you can arrive:

If you’re required to quarantine in a quarantine hotel you can only arrive in England at certain ports of entry. Currently these are:

• Heathrow Airport
• Gatwick Airport
• London City Airport
• Birmingham Airport
• Farnborough Airport

Other ports of entry may be added in the future.

If you are required to quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel and do not arrive in England at one of the designated ports of entry, you may face a penalty of up to £10,000 and will be charged for the cost of transportation to the nearest designated port or entry.

Visitors:

You cannot have visitors in quarantine, including friends or family, unless they’re providing:

• emergency assistance
• care or assistance, including personal care
• medical assistance
• veterinary services
• certain critical public services

Leaving your room:

You will only be allowed to leave your room in very limited circumstances including:

• to travel directly to leave the Common Travel Area – you will be given instructions when leaving on how to reduce the risk of infection while you travel through the UK to leave, if you are not taken directly to the port of exit by the hotel transportation
• to fulfill a legal obligation including attending court or satisfying bail conditions or to participate in legal proceedings
• to exercise but only with special permission from security. This is not guaranteed
• in exceptional circumstances, such as:
  • seeking medical assistance where this is required urgently or on the advice of a registered medical practitioner
  • to avoid injury, illness or escape a risk of harm (for example situations such as fire or flooding, or cases where domestic abuse occurs within a group quarantining together)
  • to access critical public services including social services or services provided to victims (for example critical access such as for a child to see their social worker)
  • to access veterinary services where required urgently or on the advice of a veterinary surgeon (only service animals, such as guide dogs, can accompany you to managed quarantine)

The compliance and enforcement regime is end-to-end:

All passengers should expect to be checked at various points throughout their journey, such as:

• by carriers at the time of departure
• by airport staff throughout their journey
• by Border Force officers on arrival
• spot checks by police, where appropriate, for those quarantining at home

Any passengers travelling back to England from countries not on the travel ban list will be required to quarantine at home for the same period (10 days) and abide by the same stringent testing regime. In both cases, tests must be booked from a list of government-approved test providers. Test to Release will continue to be in operation – however, arrivals will still be required to purchase the 2-testing package.

Summary of how the current rules for passengers are enforced:

• firstly, passengers must show proof of a negative test in the 3 days before departure
• they must also complete a passenger locator form in the 2 days before arriving in the UK
• carriers must check both of these for every passenger before they board the plane
• passengers are then checked again by frontline airport staff and Border Force upon arrival – passengers arriving without a completed form and negative test face a £500 fine and the airline faces a £2,000 fine
• if they have been in a red-listed country in the past 10 days, they will be denied entry to the UK unless they have a residency right
• all passengers must then self-isolate at the place they are staying for 10 days after they arrive – we have enhanced these spot checks to make sure people are self-isolating and they may be referred for police action including a fine of up to £10,000
• there are also increased checks for those self-isolating and by police at ports and airports

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