10-day mandatory quarantine for all UK citizens arriving in India from today

The Union government announced that starting from October 4, all British nationals arriving in India from the UK will have to undergo mandatory 10-day quarantine, even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The new FCDO advisory states that all travellers irrespective of their vaccination status arriving in India must undertake three COVID-19 RT-PCR tests. The first test must be taken within 72 hours before travel; the second, on arrival at the airport and the third, on day eight after arrival -- all at their own cost. Passengers must undergo mandatory quarantine at home or at the destination address for 10 days.

This announcement came days after the United Kingdom announced new travel rules which state that Indian travellers, even those who have received both doses of the Covishield vaccine, will be considered unvaccinated.

Even though the new British rules state that AstraZeneca Covishield is among vaccines that qualify as approved, India still isn't on the list. As a result, people who received Covishield in the UK count as vaccinated, while those who got it in India do not.

The UK government on Saturday updated its official advisory for its nationals travelling to India and said it was in “close contact" with Indian authorities on the issue.

British officials reportedly said last week that the issue was not the vaccine itself but the issue is with India's "vaccination certification" process. Reports suggest that the UK government is having trouble accepting the CoWin certificate and India is mulling to add the full date of birth on the certificate for people travelling abroad.

The updated travel advisory by the UK FCDO noted an additional COVID-19 test on day eight and a 10-day mandatory quarantine for all travellers going to India from Britain from Monday.