Portugal quarantine: latest travel advice as country added to England’s quarantine list - and what to do if you have a holiday or flights booked

Portugal was removed from the safe travel list weeks after it was added (Photo: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

After Scotland and Wales added the Portugal to its respective quarantine lists, England has now done the same

UK travellers returning from Portugal to England will now have to quarantine for 14 days, just weeks after the country was put on the safe list.

The country is one of the most popular tourist destinations for UK travellers and many people already have holidays booked.

Here’s the latest travel advice, quarantine rules - and what to do if you already have a trip organised.

What are the changes?

Portugal has been removed from England’s travel exemptions list, meaning people returning to the UK from Portugal will have to quarantine for 14 days.

The changes come into effect from 04:00 BST on Saturday 12 September.

Already Wales and Scotland have imposed a mandatory two-week quarantine on travellers returning from Portugal.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps made the announcement about England’s new rules on Thursday 10 September.

On his official Twitter account, Shapps wrote: “Data shows we need to remove PORTUGAL (minus the AZORES and MADEIRA), HUNGARY, FRENCH POLYNESIA and REUNION from the Travel Corridor list to keep everyone safe.”

This means the new quarantine rules apply to travellers returning from the whole of mainland Portugal, but not to those returning from the Azores or Madeira.

Why are the Azores and Madeira not affected?

On Monday 7 September, the Transport Secretary announced the introduction of a more targeted approach to travel corridors which separates some islands from mainland countries.

This means that an area that presents a higher or lower public health risk to UK travellers “can be assessed separately to the rest of the country”.

Shapps said: “Through the use of enhanced data we will now be able to pinpoint risk in some of the most popular islands, providing increased flexibility to add or remove them – distinct from the mainland – as infection rates change.”

The UK Government’s regional policy will only apply to land that has a “clear boundary” – such as an island – and “internationally comparable data” on coronavirus cases, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

Shapps said: “This development will help boost the UK’s travel industry while continuing to maintain maximum protection to public health, keeping the travelling public safe.”

Announcements on which islands and countries are being added or removed from the quarantine list will be made as part of a weekly process.

What do returning travellers have to do?

Travellers returning to England from Portugal after 4am on Saturday 12 September will have to self isolate.

Those returning to the UK will also be required to complete a free Passenger Locator Form, providing contact details and the address of where they plan to quarantine.

Shapps tweeted: “All travellers returning to the UK MUST complete a Passenger Locator Form by law. This is vital in protecting public health & ensuring those who need to are complying with self-isolation rules. It is a criminal offence not to complete the form and spot checks will be taking place.”