Summer holidays: is it illegal for me to go abroad and should I book a trip?

A new law will come into effect on Monday, as the ‘stay at home’ rule is relaxed

Distant dream: Chania in western Crete (Simon Calder )

The government has imposed new rules that stipulate a £5,000 fine for anyone trying to leave England, unless they are covered by a limited number of exemptions.

The law, known as The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021, has caused dismay among prospective holidaymakers and the travel industry.

In response, one newspaper headline reads: “Overseas travel ban extended until July.”

As consumer confidence evaporates still further, one prominent company boss has said “bookings have stopped completely”.

Another warned of “more scaremongering at a time when emotions are charged”.

In addition, millions of people with existing holiday bookings for the summer face an anxious wait to find if their plans have been scuppered.

Read more: 

• How the ‘traffic light travel’ system could work 
• Summer holidays would bring ‘real risk’ of Covid variants, says scientist 
• Ministers’ holiday warnings ‘completely irresponsible’, says travel boss 
• When can we travel again? Key lockdown easing dates

But what exactly does the new law say – and what will the impact be on your travel plans?

These are the essential questions and answers.

Is it illegal for me to go abroad?

Yes, unless it is for one of a limited number of reasons – which do not include going on holiday or visiting family or friends because you haven’t seen them for a year.

“No person may, without a reasonable excuse, leave England to travel to a destination outside the United Kingdom,” says the governments latest lockdown law; it also allows travel to Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Why is this happening now?

Since 5 January, all holidays within and beyond England are illegal due to the Stay At Home rule. As this law is lifted on 29 March, but the government wants to continue to make overseas travel illegal, its lawyers have drafted new legislation specifically aimed at foreign holidays.

So what is a “reasonable excuse” for leaving the country?

Professionals such as international hauliers and airline crew are exempt.

The government cites a further 14 exemptions, ranging from very specific (eg elite sports) to rather vague – notably a wide-ranging property exemption that has been described as the “Stanley Johnson clause”. Last summer the prime minister’s father flew to Greece via Bulgaria to make his second home “Covid-proof”, he claimed.

The full list is:

• Non-residents returning home
• Work, if it can’t be done in the UK
• “To provide voluntary or charitable services”
• Education
• Elite sport “for the purposes of training or competition”
• “To fulfil a legal obligation or to participate in legal proceedings”
• Medical treatment
• To visit someone “receiving treatment in a hospital or staying in a hospice or care home”
• “To provide care and assistance to a vulnerable person”
• To attend a funeral
• To attend a wedding or a civil partnership ceremony of a a close family member
• Child care arrangements when one parent lives abroad
• To vote in an election or a referendum if it cannot be done from the UK
• Property, including visiting estate agents, viewing places to buy or to rent or to “visit a residential property to undertake any activities required for the rental or sale of that property”

How will the rules be enforced?

All prospective travellers must complete a Declaration to Travel before turning up at a port, an airport or an international rail terminal.

Failing to have the completed document read, even if you have a valid excuse to travel, triggers a £200 fine.

If you are deemed not to have a valid excuse, a fixed penalty of £5,000 applies. The fine will be imposed on anyone “present at an embarkation point for the purpose of travelling from there to a destination outside the United Kingdom”. So even trying it on could prove extremely expensive.

How long do the rules apply?

Nominally until the end of June. But the law says: “The Secretary of State [for health, Matt Hancock] must review the need for the restrictions imposed by these Regulations by 12 April 2021 and thereafter at least once every 35 days from that date.”

So it recognises that on 12 April, the government’s Global Travel Taskforce will report back with possible arrangements for reopening international travel on 17 May – 35 days later.

I have a holiday booked in late May. Should I cancel now?

No, because there is still a fair chance it will go ahead as planned. Airlines and travel firms are desperately hoping that they will be able to restart international holidays from 17 May.

Unless and until that becomes impossible for your particular trip, the presumption is that it will be going ahead. Cancelling before that happens would substantially weaken your consumer rights – though many travel firms will allow you to postpone without penalty.

What is the Global Travel Taskforce likely to say?

This government and industry body is working on a range of proposals for resuming international travel in a way that minimises risk – and the easing of current restrictions.

There is already a “traffic light” system in effect, but this may be formalised and extended – currently only Ireland is in the green category.

Initially there is likely to be a relatively short list of nations to which travel will be feasible without undue restriction on departure or return, and some elements of testing will be retained.

If I do get abroad, what must I do to come home?

Travellers to England must test negative for coronavirus within 72 hours of departing to the UK  and take additional tests within two days of arrival and on day eight. They must also self-isolate for 10 days (reduced with an additional test on day five under “Test to Release”) – or, if it is a red list country, pay £1,750 for 11 nights in hotel quarantine.

What does the travel industry think of the new law?

“I assume it is to deter people from travelling over Easter,” Noel Josephides, chairman of Sunvil, told me. He is extremely critical of the government saying: “Why this coordinated approach, suddenly and necessarily at this time of the year?”

He said that bookings have “collapsed completely”.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said: What consumers and the travel industry need is clarity so the industry and consumers can make informed decisions about their future travel choices.

“This is not just about holidays.”

Should I avoid booking a holiday this summer?

No, there is no risk if you book a proper package holiday; either you will get the trip, or your money back if it is cancelled due to government legislation.

What is the law elsewhere in the UK?

It is likely that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will put in place similar legislation. At present there are no international links (except to Ireland) from Wales and Northern Ireland.

Anyone arriving into Scotland from abroad must go into hotel quarantine.