2019 Travel L1 While Change of.status Family Based
All passengers traveling to or connecting in the United kingdom need to present a negative coronavirus exam result and complete a passenger locator form. Yep, this applies even if you're just transiting airside while traveling betwixt two other countries.
In this post I wanted to outline my experience with this pre-travel testing requirement, also as the passenger locator form, based on my transit at London Heathrow Airport while traveling betwixt the United states of america and Greece earlier this summertime. I initially published this dorsum in May, but wanted to update the post to reflect the current situation, and to too address the virtually frequent questions I've received regarding the process since this post was first published.
Permit me emphasize that you should always check official government websites for guidance — the below outlines my experience, which might non match your experience, especially with regulations constantly changing.
England's travel coronavirus testing requirement
All air travelers to England need to provide proof of a negative coronavirus examination. This applies fifty-fifty if you lot've been vaccinated, if you're traveling from a green listing country, if you're a citizen, etc.
Note that requirements are slightly different for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Republic of ireland, so I'll be focused on England hither, since that's where nearly of the major points of entry are, and that'southward what my firsthand experience was with (meanwhile the passenger locator form is for the entire United Kingdom).
When do yous need to go tested?
Your coronavirus exam needs to be taken within three days of the divergence of your nonstop flight to the Britain. In other words, if y'all fly from New York to London and depart on a Thursday and arrive on a Friday, you could get tested as early equally Mon (and this is based on calendar days, and not a strict 72 hour interpretation).
What kind of testing qualifies?
The adept news is that you're not express to a PCR exam, but rather a rapid antigen exam generally qualifies too, equally long equally the exam meets operation standards of ≥97% specificity and ≥80% sensitivity at viral loads above 100,000 copies/ml.
This could include tests such as:
- A nucleic acid test, including a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examination or derivative technologies, including loop-mediated isothermal distension (LAMP) tests
- An antigen test, such equally a test from a lateral menses device
What information does the test need to accept?
The test must include the following:
- Your name, which should lucifer the proper name on your travel documents
- Your engagement of birth or age
- The result of the exam
- The date the exam sample was collected or received by the exam provider
- The name of the examination provider and their contact details
- Confirmation of the device used for the test, or that the exam was a PCR examination
The Uk's passenger locator class
Anyone traveling to or through the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland needs to consummate a passenger locator form each time they take a trip:
- For people staying in the UK, this course asks details well-nigh where yous program on staying, given the mandatory quarantine for many travelers
- All passengers (including transit passengers) need to provide exact details about their flights and even where they're seated, presumably (at to the lowest degree to some extent) for contact tracing purposes
Nosotros just had a layover at London Heathrow Airdrome where we were staying airside, and so I'll share the process of completing this requirement for us. Note that each adult has to consummate their own class.
So, how does the process work? There are iii main steps, which I'll outline below:
- First you tin can create a rider locator course account, which will save your basic details for six months from your previous activity; y'all might equally well create an business relationship, since you have to enter this info anyhow, and this means yous won't take to enter basic details again when traveling through the Uk in the future
- Next you have to enter details about your specific trip
- Lastly you accept to print out your class and bring information technology with you to an airport; some airlines take services that they use to simplify the process so that you lot can upload this in advance and be "verified" before you get to the drome, so look out for those (for example, American and British Airways use VeriFLY)
When should you complete the passenger locator form?
You lot tin can complete your Britain rider locator form up to 48 hours before arriving in the United Kingdom. Personally I think completing the form 24-48 hours before arriving in the UK is the sweet spot:
- You can't do and so more than than 48 hours before arrival, presumably because travel plans tin can often alter farther out than that, and you have to provide very specific details, down to your seats
- This is far enough from difference so that you lot tin can withal upload all of your details to a third political party service like VeriFLY and have time for that information to be verified, which will expedite your check-in process
Plan on it taking around fifteen minutes per passenger to complete the passenger locator form, not including the VeriFLY procedure, should you choose to employ information technology.
Stride #1: Create a passenger locator form account
To create a passenger locator form account you lot'll need to provide some basic details almost yourself, including your name, contact details, passport details, and accost.
To create an account, you need to provide an e-mail, phone number, and password.
Below you lot tin come across the questions you'll be asked, starting with your name, sex, date of nativity, telephone number, how you lot can be contacted, your habitation address, and your passport details.
Footstep #2: Upload your trip details
Once you've created a passenger locator form account, y'all'll be able to upload specific details about your trip. While yous'll only need to create an account once, y'all will need to upload trip details with each trip. When logged in you lot can click the "Create a new grade" button, and so yous can enter your trip details.
Yous'll exist asked to share when you plan to make it in the Britain, and when you plan to depart.
You'll then be asked nigh your vaccination status. That's because equally of recently, fully vaccinated travelers coming from amber list countries no longer demand to quarantine. So you'll be asked to confirm that you've been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to arriving in the U.k., and that you haven't been in whatever cherry list countries in the past x days.
Assuming you lot've been vaccinated, y'all'll and so be asked in what country your vaccination took place.
Y'all'll and then be asked if you program to stay in the Great britain or are just in transit.
You'll be asked what airport yous'll exist arriving at, what country you lot're traveling from, which flight you lot're taking, and what your seat number is (if you oasis't yet been assigned a seat, I'd recommend just writing "none," as that does the trick, and allows y'all to proceed).
You'll be asked what aerodrome you'll be departing from, what country you're traveling to, which flight y'all're taking, and what your seat number is.
You'll then exist asked if you're traveling with whatsoever minors, since they can be added to the same form (while adult travel companions tin't exist).
If you're entering the Uk, you'll also exist asked if you're required to book a coronavirus exam for the second twenty-four hours you're in the state. Solar day 2 testing is required if y'all're coming from an amber list country and are skipping quarantine on account of being vaccinated (if you're spending under two days in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, then at that place's no need to go a day ii test).
If you answer aye, you'll need to provide your test booking reference. You tin can but get tested through an official provider (here'southward the listing of eligible providers), and once you volume a test, you'll be given a test booking reference, which you'll have to enter.
Lastly, you lot'll be asked to ostend that all the information yous shared is right, and that you understand y'all'll demand to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test.
At that point your form will be submitted, and you'll be able to download your passenger locator form, which will besides be emailed to you. This will contain a reference number.
Step #3: Have your passenger locator course on paw (and more)
In theory at this point you lot're all gear up, and you could only evidence upwardly at the airport for cheque-in with your course.
Even so, some airlines have partnered with services that permit you to upload this information in advance and have it verified before you even get to the airdrome, intended to cut down on the amount of time it takes to bank check-in. Think of information technology like TSA Pre-Check for your travel documents.
For example, American and British Airways (the biggest airline articulation venture in the Uk) use VeriFLY to allow passengers to upload their rider locator form and negative coronavirus test result prior to travel.
I'll outline the procedure of using VeriFLY in a separate post, equally it's super clunky and not corking, but I'd consider it to exist a necessary evil.
Prior to my trip, I wondered if this was even necessary or useful. While not necessary, it would announced that it is useful. When I checked in at the American Airlines counter prior to my trip and informed the agent I had completed the VeriFLY process, he said "oh my God, I love yous, give thanks you."
I was surprised past the response, so I asked if VeriFLY actually made things that much easier, to which he responded "information technology's like an extra 45 minutes, you don't empathize how many steps they brand us go through."
Even with having completed VeriFLY, check-in took about twenty minutes.
Note that it was merely at cheque-in that this was needed — as transit passengers we weren't at any point in the UK asked to show our passenger locator grade or negative coronavirus test outcome.
Bottom line
If you're traveling to the Britain (including but transiting an airport) you lot'll need to complete a rider locator course within 48 hours of arrival, and provide proof of a negative coronavirus exam within 3 days of travel. Hopefully the above is a useful breakup of my experience.
Expect the process of filling out the actual form to accept effectually 15 minutes, but that doesn't gene in the fourth dimension it takes to go tested or upload your results to a service like VeriFLY.
If you've traveled to or through the U.k. recently, what was your experience with the rider locator form and/or testing?
Source: https://onemileatatime.com/uk-passenger-locator-form/