FULLY-vaccinated passengers returning to England, Scotland and Wales from France will no longer have to quarantine after this Sunday under changes to UK Covid travel restrictions.

Under new changes to the UK traffic light system, the popular tourist destination will be moved from the ‘amber plus’ list to amber.

France was added to the amber plus list last month amid concerns over the Covid Beta variant.

The government announced that from July 19 people returning from amber list countries would not need to self-isolate but would still need to comply with testing.

However, it was revealed that the change would not apply to France, “following the persistent presence of cases in France of the Beta variant, which was first identified in South Africa”.

UK travel list changes

Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway will all move from amber to green ahead of the government announcement today (Thursday, August 5)

Despite speculation that France would me moved to the red list, it will remain on amber meaning holidaymakers who are fully-vaccinated will be able to enjoy travel without quarantine.

Travellers arriving in the UK from Spain are now advised to take a PCR test - rather than the cheaper lateral flow tests - for the mandatory pre-departure test as a "precaution against the increased prevalence of the virus and variants in the country".

India, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE have all been moved from the red list to amber while Georgia, Mexico, La Reunion and Mayotte have all been relegated to the red list.

Committed to opening up international travel

England’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "We are committed to opening up international travel safely, taking advantage of the gains we've made through our successful vaccination programme, helping connect families, friends and businesses around the world."

“I know how important holidays are to people”

Boris Johnson said he wanted a “balanced” approach to international travel.

Ministers are expected to review the traffic light system for England on Thursday.

The Prime Minister told reporters during a visit to Scotland that “I know how important holidays are to people”.

“People think about them, they save up for them, people yearn to go abroad this year – I totally get that,” he said.

“We’ve got to balance that against the need to protect our country against the influx of of new variants.

“We’ve got a balanced policy but clearly we have the benefit now of the double-jab system that is enabling us to … come from the countries in the EU, without having to quarantine, and the same goes for the US.”