Has anyone had a private COVID test for travel?

[Bezzi]

Asking for a friend who needs to go home to a country which requires a negative COVID travel certificate for entry.

Has anyone done this and any advice on how to go about it?

If you google there are loads of places offering the service but are they all legit?!

Yes I have. Currently in the Maldives. Paid £200 and visited a clinic in London in person for the reliability. Plenty of good options and via post as well. Best thing is to check trustpilot, if they can visit a London clinic in person I can share where I went - bonus as they turned ours around in 24 hours.

Not cheap though.. I think you can get cheaper ones for around £120 from other companies that take a longer timeframe.

Not for travel, but my son had a private test from his work. It came from a local small independent chemist. We posted it on Thursday, it got to Northern Ireland the next day and he got negative result Saturday evening and result was sent by email.

It's also worth her checking if the country she's going to needs a 'fit to fly' certificate as well as the test certificate/result as this can cost extra.

Also if it's a 72h or 96h before arrival or something else... can be a tight squeeze which is why we travelled an hour and a half to London for ours.

It's all so confusing. We're not near London unfortunately, we're in the north.
They are an older person and have asked for my help, it's so much pressure because if I find them somewhere and it's not legit and they can't travel I'll feel so bad!

@BubbleTeaJunkie enjoy the Maldives. My most favourite place on earth.
Not jealous at all!!!

Where are they travelling to? I can help you figure out how many hours they might need to do it before.

I can try and see if there were clinics recommended to me that are in the north, there definitely were some. Trustpilot has reviews for most of these, they are all new because the demand for this service is so new.

Thank you - one of the only countries that were still letting us in.. we left before lockdown and head back in a few days. It's definitely been a mental health reset though so I feel more prepared for lockdown round two!

They're going to Australia. Thank you so much for your help.
Have a rum and tropical juice for me!!!

From gov.uk:

From 1 August 2020, pre-departure PCR COVID-19 testing will be mandatory for flights with Emirates and Etihad airlines which involve transit in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. You will need to have been tested within 96 hours before your arrival in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and be able to show evidence of a negative test before boarding your flight.

Let me check the thread of recommended places and see what they had for the north of England :-)

Check out BioGrad in Liverpool.

I had some tests booked for travel before lockdown came into force. You travel there (open 7 days) and most people get results in 12 hours, max 24. They will also do it by podt ( a bit riskier timing-wise, IMO)

They were very friendly and helpful on the phone.

It's a legit lab that hasn't been set up simply to make a buck.

*post

I have heard of Biograd and also Wren Healthcare. There was a helpful trip advisor post somewhere with a list of testing centres by location... but of course I can't find it for the life of me now!

Don't worry if some clinics have just sprung up though, when we were searching a lot of them were STI clinics
as it's the same process I guess... the trustpilot reviews will be genuine and people will be quick to write about any negative experiences!

Are they sure a test is enough? I was under the impression Australia has very tight regulations at the moment? have a friend with a mother in Australia that she says is not allowed out, and she is not allowed in? Didn't do any research myself though....

@Lua his residential address is in Australia, not sure if that makes a difference.

@BubbleTeaJunkie and @AnyFucker thank you both so much for your help. Really appreciate it. I have sent them the BioGrad phone number and details.

Is your friend aware that he will probable be in government approved quarantine on arrival for 14 days, some of which he may have to pay for,? He may also be screened for Covid 3 times in 14 days and if positive he may have longer in quarantine.

The Hale Clinic in London do these tests as do others - Harley Street Doctors and Medidoc clinics in City and Kings Cross area - but check the 'standard' required by the Immigration Dept of where you are travelling to.

They range in cost between £200-£350 and more for a guaranteed result turn round. Basically avoid Tuesday flights as a lot of clinics and labs are not 24/7 so it can be tricky on a 72 hour timeframe, less so for more than that.

I know for example that Hong Kong require a test within 72 hours of travel - but - the Lab that processes the results needs to be a recognised ICO standard.

Newer on the scene are Covid tests by Collinson - and have a testing centre now operating at Heathrow, Terminals 2 and 5 and they may help - though again, they are mainly doing testing for HK and possibly a few other destinations only. Worth asking as so much easier having it at Airport and much cheaper at £80