Travelling to U.K. test timings

[3daysor72hrs]

Does anyone have experience of taking a test in a foreign county before coming back to the U.K.?
Is the timeframe 3 days or 72hrs
Eg if you would arrive in the U.K. at 5pm on Friday having caught a plane at 2pm in other country, would it be ok to take a pcr test on Tuesday 9am?
On one bit of gov website it says three days and on another it says ‘within 72hrs’

Does anyone have any experience?

Hi, it's within 72 hours of your return time. We came back on Saturday, test taken on Friday morning. The rapid tests are fine.

All the info is here:

www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england

It’s 3 days so yes, if you are travelling on Friday then the test can be taken at any time on the Tuesday.

I’ve had several clients travel from the US and I’m sure they took their test 3 days before: and given a US flight doesn’t leave until 8pm I’m pretty sure they weren’t taking the test at 9pm at night on the 3rd day beforehand.

Ps the actual legislation says:

c)the test sample is taken from the person no more than three days before—

Hmmm
The country does pcr tests not lat flow and there are no afternoon Tuesday appointments so it will have to be weds morning I think.

On the gvmnt website I can see various explanations of the timing- it’s not totally consistent across all the pages tbh.

Thanks

It is a little confusing - 3 days before isn't including the actual day you are travelling.

So if you were getting on the plane on Friday, the 3 days before being referred to are Tues, Weds and Thurs

Yeah, but if you are flying Friday afternoon, then the test needs to be taken Tuesday afternoon or later, if you are going on the 72 hrs rule.
If you are going on the 3 days rule, then anytime Tuesday would work.
Appts are available Tuesday morning
And flights are Friday afternoon

Why can't you just get a later appointment OP? I really wouldn't risk your test being out of time if I were you.They check them at the airport before they let you check in for the flight.

The appts are all morning ones and there are no afternoon ones at all

So find a different test centre. The test will be no good to you if it's not within the time limit.

Yes it used to say 72 hours and then changed to 3 days. We had this issue when my son flew back from the states. The only Saturday appointments were before 1pm and to be within 72 hours he would have needed a test after 7.30pm. It became an issue for connecting flights so the UK government sensibly changed it to 3 days.

Can you take some lateral flow tests with you on holiday?

@MrsWooster you can't use the free lateral flow tests for the purposes of travelling.

It’s not really that possible to do another test place without a huge round trip - I’m trying to sort this out

OP you clearly want someone to tell you it'll be ok then. I can't do that. I've recently travelled and I can tell you that everything is checked to make sure it's within the timelines they need.

@SeasonFinale

Yes it used to say 72 hours and then changed to 3 days. We had this issue when my son flew back from the states. The only Saturday appointments were before 1pm and to be within 72 hours he would have needed a test after 7.30pm. It became an issue for connecting flights so the UK government sensibly changed it to 3 days.

That’s super helpful I think But we’ve gone for a test to be taken early on weds morning I found a 72hrs note on the gvmnt website just now

There is nobody to clarify this with!

I agree the wording is not that clear. I recently flew back to the U.K. and worked on the basis of 72 hours rather than 3 days, to be on the safe side. I did have my covid test checked, but only very briefly and she didn't seem to look at the timing of the test, just the result (but who knows).

[quote chocolatesaltyballs22]@MrsWooster you can't use the free lateral flow tests for the purposes of travelling.[/quote]
Thanks.
I have not got a clue about any of this-there doesn’t seem to be any clarity anywhere. We’re supposed to be going to France in August and I have no idea whether we can, should, can’t, shouldn’t… two adult and two children’s tests will cost more that the flights, even if I knew what sort of tests we all need. That’s before moral issues about do we feel it’s right to travel although we’re vaccinated etc.

You can take lateral flow tests with you. They have to be privately bought ones, not NHS ones though.

You scan the barcode and register the result on your phone.
You have to arrange PCRs once back in UK, but you can also order postal/home tests for that.

Thanks for this- the test is booked for weds morning
Fingers crossed it comes back neg soon enough!!

What happens if for example this test is positive when you are on holiday in France for example - can you not return home ?????

@cannotchange

What happens if for example this test is positive when you are on holiday in France for example - can you not return home ?????

Nope. You have to quarantine at your own expense.

Why has this not already occurred to me !

That's a pretty big risk to take - bugger

@cannotchange

What happens if for example this test is positive when you are on holiday in France for example - can you not return home ?????

This is why we've moved our summer hols to 2022. Got a nice uk holiday in cheddar gorge. Can't cope with the stress of testing etc.

@MrsWooster

You might want to catch up with the latest news from France, especially if your children are 12-17 yrs. they are to be included in the pass sanitaire (digital proof of being fully vaccinated OR a negative test) required for entry to restaurants, shopping centres, amusements etc from 1st August.

Thanks workwoes
I’m going to have find a really clear site for full info-oldest is 11 but looks a lot older so we’ll need to carry id etc. I’m moving, for all sorts of reasons, to shifting the flights and unleashing the ancient caravan for this summer…