With a probable end to the covid-19 lockdown insight and with the situation in the UK gradually returning to some semblance of normal, we thought that this would be an ideal moment to take stock of the latest travel guidelines. In this blog, we will see the latest travel guidelines and changes in employment visa rules and explain which jobs are exempt from travel restrictions. If you persist with any doubts, you can contact the employment solicitor at Osbourne Pinner.
Current Travel Restrictions to Enter in the UK
The latest travel restrictions are conditional subject to where you have been in the ten days prior to your arrival in the UK.
Arriving from a ‘Red List’ Country
If you are not a British or Irish citizen or do not possess the right of residence in the UK and are travelling from a Red List country, you will be refused entry upon arrival under the current travel guidelines. The countries in the Red List consists of Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Eswatini, French Guiana, Guyana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores), Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. No employment visa, study, or any other immigration route will suffice for people travelling from a Red List country.
Coming from a country not on the Red List
People arriving from a country that is not on the Red List have to undergo self-quarantine wherever they are staying. They will also be needed to take two Covid tests after arriving in the UK. Non-Red List travellers can also pay for their private Covid-19 tests to end their quarantine early. For more information on travel restrictions, contact the employment solicitor at Osbourne Pinner.
Jobs Eligible for Travel Exemptions in the UK
Some travellers have been exempted from self-quarantine in the country due to their occupational circumstances. The employment visa which will allow you exemptions from the restrictions are:
- Aerospace engineers
- Aircraft pilots and crew members
- BBC broadcasting services
- Border security duties – UK officials and contractors
- Border security duties – non-UK officials and contractors
- Bus and coach drivers
- Channel Tunnel system workers
- Civil aviation inspectors
- Clinical trials or studies
- Crown servants or government contractors
- Data infrastructure maintenance
- Defence personnel, visiting forces, and government contractors
- Diplomatic missions, international organisations, and conferences
- Downstream oil facility workers
- Drivers of goods vehicles
- Electronic communications networks
- Elite sportspersons – domestic
- Elite sportspersons – international
- Environment Agency relating to flood and coastal erosion risk management
- Eurostar International workers
- Eurotunnel workers
- High Speed 2 rail workers
- International prison escorts
- IT and telecoms workers
- Medical evacuation
- Medical treatment
- Urgent medical treatment
- Medicines – human and veterinary
- Network Rail workers
- Nuclear personnel
- Nuclear emergency responder
- Offshore oil and gas
- OPCW and IAEA inspectors
- Postal workers
- Quality assurance inspectors for human and veterinary medicines
- Regular work abroad
- Regular work in the UK, living abroad
- Representatives of a foreign country or territory or British overseas territories
- Seamen and masters and inspectors and surveyors of ships
- Seasonal agricultural workers
- Specialist technical workers – sub-sea telecommunications infrastructure
- Specialist technical workers – goods and services
- Specialist technical workers – waste
- Specialist technical workers – power infrastructure
- Specialist technical workers – space infrastructure
- Transiting through the UK
- Transporting human cells or blood
- Water supplies and sewerage services workers
Assistance by Osbourne Pinner
To get more information and legal assistance for travelling to the UK, get in touch with the Employment Solicitor at Osbourne Pinner. We provide expert counselling and guidance on all types of employment visa and help you get into the country legally. We have a team of the best immigration solicitors in London that always keeps you on the right side of the law.
