How Nigerian travellers must leverage on new UK travel guidelines

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4 years ago

THE new travel guidelines introduced by the United Kingdom to manage the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in the UK will definitely help to drastically reduce the scourge.

The two or multiple tests now required for people entering the UK is one that Nigerian government had long handed down to people coming into Nigeria because it wanted to ensure it protects Nigerians.

Prior to the latest travel policy, travelers to UK did not require COVID-19 test certificates to make direct trip to London and other cities in the country which led to the spike in the pandemic.

According to Nigeria’s entry requirement, anybody coming into the country must get a negative COVID-19 test certificate with another seven day reconfirmation of a negative test result in any of the approved laboratories.

The monitoring of people coming to the country for a second test result may have made the regulation inefficient and one that has not totally addressed the procurement of fake COVID-19 test certificates that was prevalent before the Federal Government intervened to make the process more credible.

The biggest beneficiaries of this new UK rule include British Airways, the other airlines from UK and by extension, Nigerians traveling to the UK which forms one of the top desired destinations to Nigerians.

The new guideline though became effective last month of February but it has excluded Nigeria from a ‘Red List’ of 33 countries that include the United Arab Emirates and 17 African countries.

The 17 African nations on the red list are: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, DRC, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius. Others are Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

For those on the Red List but with resident permit and those holding citizenship of the UK, arrivals in England from these 33 countries will have to pay some €2000 to isolate for 10days in a pre-booked Government secured hotel room.

Breaking the rules could see people fined up to €11,500 or even face 10 years in prison, according to the UK government. As with all other travelers, in addition to having a negative COVID-19 test performed within 72 hours prior to arrival, anyone arriving into England who has visited or been in transit through one of the red list countries in the last 10 days will be required to purchase the quarantine package before boarding a flight.

The package includes the government’s approved hotel accommodation, COVID-19 tests on the second and eight days of quarantine and assigned transportation with travelers having to pre-book on the UK government website.

Commenting on the development, the Country Commercial Manager, British Airways in Nigeria and West Africa, Mrs Adetutu Otuyalo declared “Everyone else traveling to the UK must take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test and get a negative result during the three days before travel, book and pay for a travel test package, which is COVID-19 tests to be taken on or before day two and on or after day eight of your home quarantine.”

“You are also to complete a passenger locator form with details of where you will stay when you arrive and the travel test package booking reference number before you can be boarded for your flight”.

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