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Country Specific Risk of Coronavirus (COVID-19) (Update 40)

02 November 2021

International travel continues to be impacted by COVID-19 and during October, several changes were made to the UK government guidance relating to international travel.

The red list, is a list of countries and territories with significantly high case numbers and/or COVID-19 variants of concern. There are specific COVID-19 testing and quarantine rules that must be followed to enter the UK from a country on the red list.

  • As of 1 November 2021, there are no countries on the red list. However, this is kept under constant review and countries and territories can be re-added to the red list at any time.

Travellers arriving in the UK from countries not currently on the red list still need to follow specific rules, depending on whether they are fully vaccinated or not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 using a UK government approved vaccine. 

Travellers should be aware that even if the country they plan to visit is no longer on the travel red list, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) may still advise against travel to that country due to the risk of COVID-19 at their planned destination.

  • All travellers should be advised to review the latest FCDO guidance for each of the countries they intend to travel or transit through.
  • It should be noted that the UK red list rules do not stipulate which destinations are allowing UK travellers to enter, this needs to be checked in the 'Entry Requirements' section of each FCDO country page.

Before booking travel, travellers should be advised to consider all of the following:

  • if their planned destination is on the red list of countries and territories
  • FCDO guidance on individual country entry requirements, restrictions, screening and quarantine requirements
  • the risk of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) at their destination: listed under the 'Emerging Health Risks' tab of each TRAVAX country page
  • their risk of severe COVID-19
  • travel insurance
  • availability of medical facilities at their destination (services may be overwhelmed due to COVID-19)
  • arranging COVID-19 testing at their destination prior to return to the UK if required to do so
  • UK Border Force rules for entering the UK during return travel

Detailed advice on the above points including advice on reducing the risk of exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19) during travel is available on the fitfortravel website page COVID-19: Health Considerations for Travel.

Country Specific COVID-19 Risk

All TRAVAX country pages include a COVID-19 country specific risk-rating which identifies each country as having either a 'high risk' or 'risk' of exposure to COVID-19 for UK travellers.

  • Countries categorised as 'high risk', have a high risk of exposure for travellers to COVID-19 and/or emerging or known variants of coronavirus (COVID-19).
  • Travellers should be advised to avoid non-essential travel to 'high risk' countries, even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

This risk-rating can be found in the 'Emerging Health Risks' drop down section on every country page. Each risk-rating is accompanied by appropriate travel advice.

As of 1 November 2021, the following countries have a FCDO advisory warning against travel and have therefore been classified as having a high risk of exposure to COVID-19:

  • Afghanistan
  • Burundi
  • Democratic People's Republic of Korea
  • Guadeloupe
  • Guatemala
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Nicaragua
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Timor Leste
  • Turkmenistan
  • Venezuela
  • Yemen

Travellers should be aware that the COVID-19 risk rating for all countries is being kept under constant review and a country risk can change at short notice.

Prevention in Travellers

Currently COVID-19 vaccines are not available solely for the purposes of travel, however travellers should be encouraged to participate in the UK COVID-19 vaccination programme if they are eligible.

Travellers should be advised to always seek medical advice if they develop a fever and have recently travelled abroad, and tell the health care professional about their recent travel history.