U.K. = england? Or are thé home nations aligned now?

[workwoes123]

I’m Scottish but don’t live in the U.K.. i haven’t been back home since Covid started but have flights booked for Christmas …

Are Scotland & England aligned in terms of the Covid travel rules these days? I know they were quite different at various points. Basically, I’m wondering if people on FB advice groups mean England when they say UK? Or if thé countries are genuinely the same in terms of rules atm?

I’m in Wales, Welsh Government have announced that our rules for travel will align with England (they were never happy with the step down to LFTs for arrivals anyway so that was predictable). We never stopped wearing masks so no change there. They are meeting today to discuss the details so things may change.

I think the different parts of the UK are aligned now because otherwise you end up in a situation where someone will just fly into the part of the UK with fewer restrictions, then drive home from there.

The media tends to report on England's rules more, so that is usually what people are referring to on FB groups etc.

The safest thing is to rely on your home nation's government web pages, rather than social media.

And we have Covid passes here for the cinema and large events

Answering my own post to say that the Scottish govt website doesn’t seem to indicate that PCR is the only option and doesn’t mention any requirement to isolate until the results come through?

@workwoes123

Answering my own post to say that the Scottish govt website doesn’t seem to indicate that PCR is the only option and doesn’t mention any requirement to isolate until the results come through?

I'm not sure England's pages have been updated yet either? Have they even said when the new rules will take effect from? I expect we'll hear more tomorrow.

www.gov.scot/news/tackling-the-threat-of-new-covid-19-variant/

Yes you need to isolate until you get a negative result

For travel Scotland had aligned with UK they wanted to be stricter but felt people would just fly via England so didn't want to lose the benefits of travel as they can't avoid risks.

I expect if England getting stricter they will welcome this so will continue to be the same.

Cheers @dementedpixie that’s the info I was looking for. Social media (includingMN) is great for the heads up, to be confirmed by official sources.

How do PCR test work in Scotland? In France PCR / antigen tests can only be done by a health professional - there’s no at home testing (other than LTF which don’t count for much). Are PCR tests posted out like the day 2 antigen tests? What’s the processing time like? We’ll be coming into Edinburgh.

You have to go to a testing centre to get a PCR in Scotland. There are lots of them. Results tend to be back within 24 hours.

www.find-travel-test-provider.service.gov.uk/providers#list-of-test-providers

You can filter for at home or on site testing. Havent had to use it so can't recommend any of them

@dementedpixie

www.gov.scot/news/tackling-the-threat-of-new-covid-19-variant/

Yes you need to isolate until you get a negative result

"we are aligning with the new border restrictions being introduced by the UK Government which will require fully vaccinated arrivals to take a PCR test within two days of arrival and to self-isolate until a negative result is received. These measures will be introduced as soon as possible and kept under constant review. "

So the new rules have not taken effect yet.

Yes, but OP is coming at Christmas so they will be introduced by then

@weebarra is that correct? I can find lots of references to at-home PCR testing for travel to Scotland, and no info about having to go to a testing centre.

We arrive on a Saturday evening too 🤦‍♀️ Presumably no post collection on Sunday, so even if we can get the tests sent to my SIL for that Saturday to do straight away, we can’t even send them off until the Monday am.

There are priority post boxes that you put your test in that are emptied and processed every day. You can find your nearest one on the post office website

@dementedpixie

Yes, but OP is coming at Christmas so they will be introduced by then

Yes, just pointing out for anyone else reading this who is travelling today/tomorrow and panicking!

Just checked, sorry, you can do them at home - or at the airport!