Covid testing for amber list country?
Discussion
Jim H said:
Cheers Phil,
As an update. Documentation checks at Malaga Airport were very stringent upon boarding. I’d printed all mine off in advance PCR I’d obtained the actual signed certificate from clinic rather than scanned in PDF. I know a PCR wasn’t necessary, but after my journey out and the confusion around matters - I went belt and braces.
Aircraft fairly full (in a lot of cases three sat next to each other in a row)
Absolutely zero checks upon arrival at Manchester on documentation.
Would I do all that again?
Probably not! I’m in a fairly fortunate position where I own a property in Spain, if it all the arrangements had collapsed like a house of cards (failed or inconclusive result) - I still had a roof over my head and some wriggle room.
I’ve got another trip planned in October, I don’t think I could go through all that / this again.
I was out there for 4 weeks, first week and half was good, after that, just a massive distraction which left me feeling restless all the time.
Consider going away for a week, I definitely wouldn’t.
A weekend away? Forget about it, totally impossible now.
You have to be really flexible now for euro travel, and have very limited constraints.
And deep pockets.
Agree completely that short breaks are impossible now. Just too much hassle and expense.As an update. Documentation checks at Malaga Airport were very stringent upon boarding. I’d printed all mine off in advance PCR I’d obtained the actual signed certificate from clinic rather than scanned in PDF. I know a PCR wasn’t necessary, but after my journey out and the confusion around matters - I went belt and braces.
Aircraft fairly full (in a lot of cases three sat next to each other in a row)
Absolutely zero checks upon arrival at Manchester on documentation.
Would I do all that again?
Probably not! I’m in a fairly fortunate position where I own a property in Spain, if it all the arrangements had collapsed like a house of cards (failed or inconclusive result) - I still had a roof over my head and some wriggle room.
I’ve got another trip planned in October, I don’t think I could go through all that / this again.
I was out there for 4 weeks, first week and half was good, after that, just a massive distraction which left me feeling restless all the time.
Consider going away for a week, I definitely wouldn’t.
A weekend away? Forget about it, totally impossible now.
You have to be really flexible now for euro travel, and have very limited constraints.
And deep pockets.
I believe the airlines are heavily financially penalised if they let anyone on board without all the correct documents. I saw two youngsters turned away at the gate because they hadn’t pre-booked their day 2 and 8 tests, even though they had taken a test 72 hours beforehand.
I think some border controls are relying on the airlines to police the documentation for them. Having said, that when returning to the UK a couple of weeks ago, the Border control person said he could see our documentation on their system and didn’t need to see my copies. So maybe the systems are linked up now and they only check if something is missing on their system?
I too have a place in Spain. We’re visiting in late July for 6 weeks and then hoping to take another 5-6 weeks before the end of the year in-line with the new 90/180 day rules. I can just about manage all the waste of time and expense of the return tests for a 6 week visit.
I saw a very odd threesome boarding /queuing at gate, a woman , young lad (20’s) and a huge man mountain of a man.
He must have been nearly seven foot, and at least 25 stone - and very scary looking.
They were laughing behind me as they’d missed a flight six hours earlier through non completion of Locator Forms
When asked about their negative Covid test they all said they were all exempt. The Gate rep was having none of it at all.
The excuses were: ‘we are carers, we don’t need one etc’
The ‘Big Lad’ then said he was a Police Officer!
I was astonished to see them allowed on as they clearly could not provide proof they didn’t need a negative test.
I was even more astounded to see the Big Lad sprawled across three seats, feet against the window, head in aisle, asleep - no mask!
Despite constant reminders from cabin personnel.
I was quite satisfied to see them all blocked at customs this end. I think the gate reps Malaga end gave up - and called it in. For Manchester to deal with.
He was one big nasty looking piece work.
Again, it’s not the just the regulations you are dealing with, it’s people also.
He must have been nearly seven foot, and at least 25 stone - and very scary looking.
They were laughing behind me as they’d missed a flight six hours earlier through non completion of Locator Forms
When asked about their negative Covid test they all said they were all exempt. The Gate rep was having none of it at all.
The excuses were: ‘we are carers, we don’t need one etc’
The ‘Big Lad’ then said he was a Police Officer!
I was astonished to see them allowed on as they clearly could not provide proof they didn’t need a negative test.
I was even more astounded to see the Big Lad sprawled across three seats, feet against the window, head in aisle, asleep - no mask!
Despite constant reminders from cabin personnel.
I was quite satisfied to see them all blocked at customs this end. I think the gate reps Malaga end gave up - and called it in. For Manchester to deal with.
He was one big nasty looking piece work.
Again, it’s not the just the regulations you are dealing with, it’s people also.
NextSlidePlease said:
I thought a lateral flow test was like taking a breathalyser test. How wrong i was. A Portuguese nurse just rammed a swab so far up my nostril it hit the back of my throat, and then the eye watering experience was repeated on my other nostril for good measure.
The covid test centre in Albufeira was a very quick and efficient service though, in and out in no time, email result an hour later. 20 euros.
I had a pcr test in Pakistan in December and one in Israel in January, they take it really seriously in both places and they may as well have gone straight for the chocolate starfish with how far in my nose then went The covid test centre in Albufeira was a very quick and efficient service though, in and out in no time, email result an hour later. 20 euros.
Randox -
handed in day 5 test on wednesday.
Finally got confirmation today it is at their laboratory.
Still no result.
Should have received it yesterday.
Tomorrow we do the randox day 8.
And also a boots day 5 in case randox day 5 doesn't turn up by tomorrow morning.
I get the feeling i'd never get out of quarantine with randox.
Awful
handed in day 5 test on wednesday.
Finally got confirmation today it is at their laboratory.
Still no result.
Should have received it yesterday.
Tomorrow we do the randox day 8.
And also a boots day 5 in case randox day 5 doesn't turn up by tomorrow morning.
I get the feeling i'd never get out of quarantine with randox.
Awful
philv said:
Randox -
handed in day 5 test on wednesday.
Finally got confirmation today it is at their laboratory.
Still no result.
Should have received it yesterday.
Tomorrow we do the randox day 8.
And also a boots day 5 in case randox day 5 doesn't turn up by tomorrow morning.
I get the feeling i'd never get out of quarantine with randox.
Awful
No consolation, but I take it you are getting a refund on the day 5?handed in day 5 test on wednesday.
Finally got confirmation today it is at their laboratory.
Still no result.
Should have received it yesterday.
Tomorrow we do the randox day 8.
And also a boots day 5 in case randox day 5 doesn't turn up by tomorrow morning.
I get the feeling i'd never get out of quarantine with randox.
Awful
Day 2 & 8 I have no problem going the postal route, but not day 5. For it to be worth you need results the next day.
I found a place local to me that will do day 5 in person, so now use them & have result morning of day 6. They've just started doing day 2 & 8 in person as well. So I'm using them for that, So when I'm not at home on day 2 it'll be because I'm out doing the test!
Day 2 tests by the way can be done at any point up to & including day 2 after you land. You also should not do Day 5 unless you have received a negative test for day 2. Day 8 can be done anytime after day 8
It's all a big cash cow,
I'm arriving from the US near the end of July. I last did it in March of this year and had no trouble. I got my pre-flight test here in the US, no problem. Completed my PLF online a couple of days before departure and also ordered the day 2 and 8 home test kits online via the UK .gov website. That all worked out fine, but pricey.
Now I see from posts like this there are other options for cheaper home test day 2 & 8 kits, eg Randox.
My perhaps problem is I am arriving at LHR and travelling direct to Cornwall for my quarantine period, and hoping to do a day 5 early release.
However, it seems the Randox option requires you to use their dropboxes. Plymouth is the nearest Randox dropbox to Cornwall and that will be about 2 hours away from me. Their website says you can use a suitable courier service, but that will just bump the cost up.
Anyone been in a similar situation and can advise alternative day 2 & 8 services with more accessible delivery options?
In March I used the Royal Mail Priority Drop Boxes.
I am also fully vaccinated, and hear rumblings of a possible relaxation in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed.
Now I see from posts like this there are other options for cheaper home test day 2 & 8 kits, eg Randox.
My perhaps problem is I am arriving at LHR and travelling direct to Cornwall for my quarantine period, and hoping to do a day 5 early release.
However, it seems the Randox option requires you to use their dropboxes. Plymouth is the nearest Randox dropbox to Cornwall and that will be about 2 hours away from me. Their website says you can use a suitable courier service, but that will just bump the cost up.
Anyone been in a similar situation and can advise alternative day 2 & 8 services with more accessible delivery options?
In March I used the Royal Mail Priority Drop Boxes.
I am also fully vaccinated, and hear rumblings of a possible relaxation in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed.
We’ll we’ve arrived in Spain. The process was fiddly, and involves a collection of badly designed websites, but pretty easy. Some notes.
- The Spanish SPat thing won’t give you a QR until you have a seat number, and BA won’t let you check in until you have a QR. Hmmm. Simple solution - just stick random seat numbers into the SPat form. No one cares on arrival as long as you have a QR.
- Spain accepts LAMP tests for non-vaccinated entry (the kids) which get a result in 20 minutes. We got them done at Collinson at T5 - very efficient and quick. The only downside is they’ve implemented some stupid blockchain certificate system and the pdfs are password protected, so you can’t upload them to BA. Simple solution - print to PDF and upload that to BA.
- NHS vaccination QRs presented no issue.
We’ve yet to experience the joy of return, but outbound was fine with almost zero delay. The ‘plane was full - properly rammed, which is good for BA.
- The Spanish SPat thing won’t give you a QR until you have a seat number, and BA won’t let you check in until you have a QR. Hmmm. Simple solution - just stick random seat numbers into the SPat form. No one cares on arrival as long as you have a QR.
- Spain accepts LAMP tests for non-vaccinated entry (the kids) which get a result in 20 minutes. We got them done at Collinson at T5 - very efficient and quick. The only downside is they’ve implemented some stupid blockchain certificate system and the pdfs are password protected, so you can’t upload them to BA. Simple solution - print to PDF and upload that to BA.
- NHS vaccination QRs presented no issue.
We’ve yet to experience the joy of return, but outbound was fine with almost zero delay. The ‘plane was full - properly rammed, which is good for BA.
montecristo said:
About the pre-departure test ... does anyone know, if you're travelling out of the UK for just one day, can you get the pre-departure test in the UK before leaving for the destination, or does it have to be taken at the destination?
I read on the UK gov site that this was ok…rxe said:
We’ll we’ve arrived in Spain. The process was fiddly, and involves a collection of badly designed websites, but pretty easy. Some notes.
- The Spanish SPat thing won’t give you a QR until you have a seat number, and BA won’t let you check in until you have a QR. Hmmm. Simple solution - just stick random seat numbers into the SPat form. No one cares on arrival as long as you have a QR.
- Spain accepts LAMP tests for non-vaccinated entry (the kids) which get a result in 20 minutes. We got them done at Collinson at T5 - very efficient and quick. The only downside is they’ve implemented some stupid blockchain certificate system and the pdfs are password protected, so you can’t upload them to BA. Simple solution - print to PDF and upload that to BA.
- NHS vaccination QRs presented no issue.
We’ve yet to experience the joy of return, but outbound was fine with almost zero delay. The ‘plane was full - properly rammed, which is good for BA.
We'll be doing this at the end of next week.- The Spanish SPat thing won’t give you a QR until you have a seat number, and BA won’t let you check in until you have a QR. Hmmm. Simple solution - just stick random seat numbers into the SPat form. No one cares on arrival as long as you have a QR.
- Spain accepts LAMP tests for non-vaccinated entry (the kids) which get a result in 20 minutes. We got them done at Collinson at T5 - very efficient and quick. The only downside is they’ve implemented some stupid blockchain certificate system and the pdfs are password protected, so you can’t upload them to BA. Simple solution - print to PDF and upload that to BA.
- NHS vaccination QRs presented no issue.
We’ve yet to experience the joy of return, but outbound was fine with almost zero delay. The ‘plane was full - properly rammed, which is good for BA.
I assume the LAMP was for kids between 12 and 18? As I understood that under 12s dont need to be tested or be vaccinated?
I've been following the UK Gov announcements this week about dropping quarantine after visits from Amber countries. But, from what I am understanding, it only applies to UK residents going on holiday to Amber countries, and if they are double jabbed. As I am a US citizen visiting the UK from the US (Amber), it still appears that even if I am vaccinated, I would still have to do the 2-8 quarantine with the 5 days early option. Anyone confirm?
geeman237 said:
I've been following the UK Gov announcements this week about dropping quarantine after visits from Amber countries. But, from what I am understanding, it only applies to UK residents going on holiday to Amber countries, and if they are double jabbed. As I am a US citizen visiting the UK from the US (Amber), it still appears that even if I am vaccinated, I would still have to do the 2-8 quarantine with the 5 days early option. Anyone confirm?
From what I am picking up on Spanish forums, the UK will presently only accept the NHS App as proof of vaccination when entering the country. I’ve not seen this advice formally yet but it sounds about right for this government. Phil. said:
geeman237 said:
I've been following the UK Gov announcements this week about dropping quarantine after visits from Amber countries. But, from what I am understanding, it only applies to UK residents going on holiday to Amber countries, and if they are double jabbed. As I am a US citizen visiting the UK from the US (Amber), it still appears that even if I am vaccinated, I would still have to do the 2-8 quarantine with the 5 days early option. Anyone confirm?
From what I am picking up on Spanish forums, the UK will presently only accept the NHS App as proof of vaccination when entering the country. I’ve not seen this advice formally yet but it sounds about right for this government. I was vaccinated at work in Qatar, the U.K. government even advised us to get vaccinated abroad if possible, but they won’t accept this to return.
Don’t even get me started on why Qatar is still red listed as they won’t even publish the criteria.
jock mcsporran said:
Correct, absolute shambles. Basically they’re saying that other countries should accept U.K. vaccine so Karen can go on holiday but they won’t accept anyone else’s vaccine to enter the U.K.
I was vaccinated at work in Qatar, the U.K. government even advised us to get vaccinated abroad if possible, but they won’t accept this to return.
Don’t even get me started on why Qatar is still red listed as they won’t even publish the criteria.
For travel purposes the UK government also ignore all those who have had the virus, unlike the EU. These people have more antibodies than the jabbed. It’s a load of bad politics and bad politicians. I was vaccinated at work in Qatar, the U.K. government even advised us to get vaccinated abroad if possible, but they won’t accept this to return.
Don’t even get me started on why Qatar is still red listed as they won’t even publish the criteria.
jock mcsporran said:
Don’t even get me started on why Qatar is still red listed as they won’t even publish the criteria.
Recently back from Albania where Covid is simply not a thing. Life is normal there. This isn't dubious data, the country's Covid response has and is beeing overseen by the German government who are overseeing and publishing much of the data. Yet, it remains resolutely Amber and like you say, there exists no published reason for this.
Macedonia and Kosovo do have some issues with Covid still but Albania has closed off the borders with them with some robustness it must be said. A colleague of mine lives in Western Bulgaria and would normally drive to Triana but had to fly via Vienna because of this.
alorotom said:
We'll be doing this at the end of next week.
I assume the LAMP was for kids between 12 and 18? As I understood that under 12s dont need to be tested or be vaccinated?
Yes - mine are 16 and 18. I’m trying to work out if the 16 year old is on the one test regime on the way home. Thankfully I didn’t book any of the return tests before we left as I suspected/hoped the situation may have changed.I assume the LAMP was for kids between 12 and 18? As I understood that under 12s dont need to be tested or be vaccinated?
To the question on Spain checking anything - they don’t. They simply check that you’ve filled in the SPat forms, and your entire set of entries could be a pack of lies, nothing is checked but there is a “validation” stage, which does absolutely nothing.
The only people doing the checking are BA. You have to upload vaccination and/or test certs to them, and you can’t check in until you have these.
rxe said:
alorotom said:
We'll be doing this at the end of next week.
I assume the LAMP was for kids between 12 and 18? As I understood that under 12s dont need to be tested or be vaccinated?
Yes - mine are 16 and 18. I’m trying to work out if the 16 year old is on the one test regime on the way home. Thankfully I didn’t book any of the return tests before we left as I suspected/hoped the situation may have changed.I assume the LAMP was for kids between 12 and 18? As I understood that under 12s dont need to be tested or be vaccinated?
To the question on Spain checking anything - they don’t. They simply check that you’ve filled in the SPat forms, and your entire set of entries could be a pack of lies, nothing is checked but there is a “validation” stage, which does absolutely nothing.
The only people doing the checking are BA. You have to upload vaccination and/or test certs to them, and you can’t check in until you have these.
looking forward to getting away in 7days time!
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