Written Statement: International Travel Regulations

At the request of the UK Government the Welsh Government has agreed to amend The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (Wales) Regulations 2020 to exempt travellers from a list of countries from the quarantine requirements put in place by the regulations.  The original regulations were made on 5 June and came into force on 8 June; the amended regulations will come into force on 10 July.  As a result of the amended regulations travellers arriving in Wales from countries listed below will no longer be required to isolate for a quarantine period.   

The travel regulations require passengers arriving in Wales from outside of the Common Travel Area, or where they have been outside of the Common Travel Area in the past 14 days, to provide their contact details and travel information and to isolate themselves for a period of 14 days. The Regulations contain a number of exemptions for specified categories of people – such as air flight crew, for example.  The amendments agreed now exempt travellers from the countries listed.

We are also taking the opportunity to amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Public Health Information for Persons Travelling to Wales etc.) Regulations 2020 to provide flexibility in how the public health statement delivered to passengers on-board aircraft may be delivered. We are harmonising this statement with that given on behalf of the other UK countries. 

Responsibility for managing UK borders rests with the UK Government.  The Welsh Government has, throughout this process, aimed to be constructive in enabling the UK Government achieve its policy objective.  The UK Government has shared its methodology with us and this has been reviewed by the Chief Medical Officer.      

Below is the list of exempt countries included in the Regulations. 

• Andorra
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Aruba
• Australia
• Austria
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belgium
• Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
• Croatia
• Curacao
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Dominica
• Faroe Islands
• Fiji
• Finland
• France
• French Polynesia
• Germany
• Greece
• Greenland
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan
• The Republic of Korea
• La Reunion
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macau
• Malta
• Mauritius
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• San Marino
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Spain
• Saint Barthelemy
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turkey
• Vatican City
• Vietnam

United Kingdom Overseas Territories

• The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in the Island of Cyprus
• Anguilla
• Bermuda
• British Antarctic Territory
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Falkland Islands
• Gibraltar
• Montserrat
• Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
• Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• Turks and Caicos Islands