Vaccination certification from EU/EFTA Member States accepted from Monday 16th August

As part of this decision, the CCA has decided that from Monday 16th August any fully vaccinated adult who had their vaccination administered in the Common Travel Area (Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, UK or Republic of Ireland), EU or EFTA (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland), will be classified as Category 2 if they have travelled anywhere outside of the Common Travel Area in the previous 14 days– as long as they have not spent any time in a country on the UK’s ‘red list’. Category 2 arrivals take a PCR test on arrival, isolate until a negative result and then have a second PCR test on day 7.  Category 2 arrivals must comply with ‘passive follow-up rules’ until 14 days after their arrival in the Bailiwick.

The CCA’s decision significantly reduces isolation requirements for fully vaccinated people (both doses plus 14 days have passed since second jab) who travel to the Bailiwick having spent time abroad and is a further demonstration of the CCA’s strategy to continue safely opening up to travel, as the Bailiwick embraces the need to live responsibly with Covid-19. The Bailiwick is able to begin accepting EU and EFTA vaccination certificates after receiving confirmation of their vaccine certification templates in the last week.

The CCA decided against including travellers fully vaccinated in EU/EFTA countries within the Bailiwick’s ‘Blue Channel’, which would have meant travellers receive Lateral Flow Test packs on arrival but with no isolation requirement, primarily as a result of the continued but manageable risk of variants of concern. The Blue Channel will remain for those who have been fully vaccinated within the Bailiwick, UK or other Common Travel Area jurisdictions who arrive in the islands having not spent time outside the CTA in the prior 14 days.

We are aware that the UK currently has specific measures in place for France. Should these remain in place, the CCA will consider the position regarding travellers who have spent time in France prior to 16^th August when these changes come into effect. Anyone wanting to travel outside the Common Travel Area is also advised to closely monitor any restrictions in place for arrivals in that country.

Deputy Peter Ferbrache, Chairman of the Civil Contingencies Authority, said:

‘Since we introduced relaxed border measures on 1^st July for those fully vaccinated within the Common Travel Area, we have kept the position under review for travellers who received their vaccine doses in the European Union and European Free Trade Association. The issue was never about the vaccines these countries administered, but rather about our strategy to have a programme of vaccine certificate verification in place at a time when many countries within the EU/EFTA did not yet have a standardised template.

‘We are pleased that in the last week significant progress has been made and we are now in a position to include vaccination certificates from EU and EFTA countries as part of our verification programme. We have decided to introduce this in two weeks for several reasons, including that we will be even further along in our vaccination programme, we have a bit more work to complete to be ready for the changes and we are also conscious that we are just about to introduce lateral flow testing on arrival from tomorrow for fully vaccinated adult “Blue Channelers” arriving from within the Common Travel Area.

‘But this decision is a further measured and proportionate step as we continue our strategy of reducing restrictions when it is appropriate to do so, focusing initially on those who are fully vaccinated. As we said last week, nothing is risk free and living responsibly with Covid means travelling responsibly with Covid, so anyone wanting to take advantage of the reduced measures by travelling outside of the Common Travel Area needs to bear that in mind.

‘As with all the CCA’s decision, I include a slight caveat that things can change very quickly but all things being equal Monday 16^th August will see a significant reduction in isolation requirements for anyone fully vaccinated within the jurisdictions of the Common Travel Area, EU or EFTA who wants to arrive in the Bailiwick having travelled further afield than the UK, Republic of Ireland, Jersey or the Isle of Man. The only exception will be if you’ve visited a country on the UK’s red list, which will remain subject to Category 4 requirements.’

More information can be found in our FAQs https://covid19.gov.gg/guidance/faqs