Current Travel Requirements

The ‘Blue Channel’ is the term used on our Travel Tracker system that identifies those travellers arriving in the Bailiwick who have received 2 doses of an MHRA approved vaccine from within the Common Travel Area and at least 14 days have passed since they received their second dose of vaccine.

‘Blue Channel’ passengers are not required to undertake any testing or self-isolation on arrival in the Bailiwick.

Travellers meet the criteria for ‘Blue Channel’ status if they meet the vaccination criteria and they have not travelled outside of the CTA 14 days prior to their travel into the Bailiwick.

In order to be eligible for the blue arrival channel into the Bailiwick of Guernsey, an arriving individual will be required to provide official proof of vaccination issued by the relevant public health authority within the Common Travel Area, once they have received both doses of the relevant COVID-19 vaccine. Other forms of evidence such as vaccination appointment cards and GP letters will not be accepted at this time, however, this will be kept under review. 

Further details about COVID Status Certificates can be found here: COVID Status Certificates (Vaccine Passports) | States of Guernsey - COVID-19 (gov.gg)

Category 1 will be for countries and regions where there is an agreed Air Bridge in place. There will be no testing or self-isolation requirements for those arriving from Category 1 countries and regions.

Countries and regions with a prevalence rate of under 30 cases per 100,000 population for 7 consecutive days are in Category 2.

If you have spent time in a Category 2 country or region in the 14-day period immediately before arriving in the Bailiwick, you can opt to take a PCR self-swab test on arrival and self-isolate until you receive a negative result from that test. You must then comply with the "passive follow-up" rules until 14 days after your arrival in the Bailiwick.

For the avoidance of doubt, while travellers are not obliged to take any test, any person who:

• declines to take a test on arrival, and/or
• any other test required to reduce his or her period of self-isolation,

must self-isolate for a period of 21 days, regardless of the countries or regions which he or she has spent time in during the 14-day period immediately before his or her arrival in the Bailiwick.

Full details regarding self-isolation, household bubbles, special arrangements for children etc. can be found here.

Countries and regions with a prevalence rate between 30 to 100 cases per 100,000 population for 7 consecutive days are in Category 3.

If you have spent time in a Category 3 country or region in the 14-day period immediately before arriving in the Bailiwick, you can opt to take a PCR self-swab test on arrival, self-isolate AND take a further PCR test on Day 7.

If you have a negative result from your test on arrival, you may only leave self-isolation when you also receive a negative result from your Day 7 test. You must then comply with the "passive follow-up" rules until 14 days after your arrival in the Bailiwick.

For the avoidance of doubt, while travellers are not obliged to take any test, any person who:

• declines to take a test on arrival, and/or
• any other test required to reduce his or her period of self-isolation,

must self-isolate for a period of 21 days, regardless of the countries or regions which he or she has spent time in during the 14-day period immediately before his or her arrival in the Bailiwick.

Full details regarding self-isolation, household bubbles, special arrangements for children etc can be found here.

Countries and regions with a prevalence rate of more than 100 cases per 100,000 population for 7 consecutive days are in Category 4.

If you:

• are aged 18 or over, and
• have spent time in a Category 4 country or region in the 14-day period immediately before arriving in the Bailiwick,

you must self-isolate for a period of 21 days.

However, you can opt to take a PCR self-swab test on arrival, self-isolate AND take a further PCR test on day 13 (a "Day 13 test"). Where your test on arrival and Day 13 test are negative, you may leave self-isolation before the end of the period of 21 days BUT ONLY when you have received a negative result from your Day 13 test.

For the avoidance of doubt, while travellers are not obliged to take any test, any person who:

• declines to take a test on arrival, and/or
• any other test required to reduce his or her period of self-isolation,

must self-isolate for a period of 21 days, regardless of the countries or regions which he or she has spent time in during the 14-day period immediately before his or her arrival in the Bailiwick.

Full details regarding self-isolation, household bubbles, special arrangements for children etc. can be found here.

While travellers are not mandated to take any tests, anyone who declines testing will need to observe a mandatory 21 day self-isolation period regardless of which country they have come from.

If you are self-isolating with other people in your household, you will need to complete an online form which can be found at www.gov.gg/isolatetogether. This is to ensure that everyone is registered and offered a test, if required. 

Please note, if a traveller declines testing, any unvaccinated members of the traveller's household will also have to isolate for this 21 day period, unless they can be separated.

If you are required to have a Day 7 and/or Day 13 test, this will be scheduled through the Travel Tracker site. This will be a supervised self-administered swab at the East Arm testing facility. An email or text reminder will be sent to you to confirm the date, time and location of your test(s). Please do not attend at any other time. More information can be found on the ‘Day 7/13 Testing’ webpage. 

Any breach of the Bailiwick's self-isolation rules can result in a fine of up to £10,000.

The following rules will apply from 1st July 2021 for children/young people travelling from the Common Travel Area.

Children 11 years and under travelling with fully vaccinated adults:

• No testing or isolation requirements

Children and young people aged 12 to 17 travelling with fully vaccinated adults:

• Self-taken swab on Day of Arrival
• Isolation until the result of the Day of Arrival test – please note that the fully vaccinated adults are not required to isolate if they do not wish to
• Day 7 test through scheduling
• Passive follow-up between result of Day of Arrival test and result of Day 7 test

For children who are travelling with adults who are not fully vaccinated (or where at least one of the adults in the travelling group is not fully vaccinated), the rules for the child are the same as they are currently, and will depend entirely on which category country or region they have travelled from.

Similarly, for children who are travelling from outside the Common Travel Area, the current categorisation of regions and countries and the associated testing and self-isolation requirements will continue to apply (in the same way that they apply for all travellers).

Unaccompanied minors travelling to the Bailiwick are very few, but they or their parents/guardians should contact Public Health to discuss the specific circumstances of their journey: publichealth@gov.gg or call 01481 707311.

All children/young people who travel into the Bailiwick and wish to enter an educational setting within 14 days of their arrival will need a to have a swab taken, and a negative COVID-19 test on this swab, 48 hours or less, before they enter that educational setting. 

More frequently asked questions can be found at: covid19.gov.gg/faqs/july.

While travellers are not mandated to take any tests, anyone who declines testing will need to observe a mandatory 21-day self-isolation period regardless of which country they have come from.

If you are self-isolating with other people in your household, you will need to complete an online form which can be found at www.gov.gg/isolatetogether. This is to ensure that everyone is registered and offered the necessary test appointments.

Passive follow up means a person:

• Must at all times be vigilant for symptoms, however mild, of COVID-19; must report any such symptoms immediately to the Clinical Helpline; and must comply with any instructions given by Public Health thereafter (which may, for the avoidance of doubt, include an immediate resumption of self-isolation);
• Must not enter a nursing, care or residential home without the prior agreement of the manager of the home, received after having informed the manager of the home of their status as being subject to these restrictions and should not return to work there unless they have an agreed method statement with Public Health; 
• Must not, other than in an emergency, enter the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, and in an emergency must give prior notification of their status as being subject to these restrictions before entering the Princess Elizabeth Hospital if reasonably practicable in all the circumstances and should not return to work there unless they have an agreed method statement with Public Health; 
• Must inform any other healthcare provider (for example, a doctor, optometrist or dentist) of their status as being subject to these restrictions when making any appointment for care;
• Must, so far as reasonably practicable, keep a record of people met and places visited (to assist with contact tracing if necessary); and,
• Must comply with any additional conditions and restrictions imposed from time to time by the Medical Officer of Health.

Travel during passive follow-up is allowed, but for Category 2, anyone leaving the Bailiwick before Day 7 will be asked to take a pre-departure test. Please ensure that you complete your departure date in the Travel Tracker.

Passengers will have already paid for this test when they completed the Travel Tracker.

A person may enter the Princess Elizabeth Hospital to visit a patient who is seriously ill if the management of the hospital agrees and if a method statement has been agreed with Public Health.

In terms of school or Early Years attendance, any student who has received a negative COVID-19 test result from their day 7 test (Category 2 countries and regions) and moved into the 7 day passive follow-up phase is able to attend school/ preschool/ Nursery or Childminder.

If a traveller from a Category 3 country needs to leave the Bailiwick between the receipt of their negative Day 7 test and Day 14 following their arrival into the Bailiwick they WILL be allowed to travel.

Everyone arriving into the Bailiwick - including private vessels and aircraft - will need to register their journey on the Travel Tracker regardless of vaccination status.

Find out more information about the Travel Tracker, and to create your account, please click here.

On arrival, you will be given a testing kit which will include everything you need to take your sample. Your pack will include:

• Swab
• Green screw topped tube
• Plastic envelope

You will need to take two samples, one from the back of your throat and the other from the inside of your nose – using the same swab.

Please make sure you scan the barcode on the green screw topped tube to register your test against your Travel Tracker account, this will let the Laboratory know that you have submitted your test.

Once you have completed your test, please ensure the lid is secure and then take it in the envelope to the exit desk.

For a more detailed step by step guide on the process of self-swabbing please see the download below. There are also videos about what happens at both the airport and harbour available below.

When you arrive in Guernsey your onward travel options to your final destination will be different depending on whether you are in the “blue channel” travel category or not. The blue channel travel category applies to passengers who are fully vaccinated, 14 days have passed since their second vaccination and they are arriving from the Common Travel Area. These passengers do not need to isolate or be tested on arrival.

Onward travel for blue channel passengers:

• Please ensure that you have transport organised to take you to your accommodation. 
• You may use any transport method to get you to your final destination after leaving the port, including boarding a bus, taking a taxi, cycling or walking. This will include travellers with under 12s, but not when travelling with 12-17 year olds that are required to isolate on arrival.
• To board a bus or take a taxi you may be requested by the operator to show them your Travel Tracker so they can confirm your travel status.
• Taxi availability at the time of your arrival cannot be guaranteed so please ensure that you pre-book to avoid delays to your journey. 
• Please note that buses will not be accepting cash payments at this time.

Onward travel for passengers who are not in the blue channel travel category (who are required to self-isolate immediately on arrival):

• Please ensure that you have transport organised to take you to your accommodation. Bicycles or buses are not a suitable method of transport to self-isolation. Walking is also not a suitable mode of transport to self-isolation.
• It is recommended that you use your own vehicle wherever possible for onward travel to your destination to begin the mandatory self-isolation period.
• Where this is not possible, a friend or family member may collect you provided you sit in the rear of the vehicle, you continue to wear a mask, the windows are kept open and the vehicle is cleaned after use with detergent/water or suitable detergent/disinfectant wipes.
• Hire cars may be used so long as they stay at your self-isolation address unused for at least 72 hours and have a full valet clean before re-hire.

• If there is no alternative, a taxi can be used. 
  • Taxi availability at the time of your arrival cannot be guaranteed so please ensure that you pre-book to avoid considerable delays to your journey. Please also note that not all taxis at the port taxi ranks may be accepting passengers who are not in the blue channel travel category. A taxi operator may request to see your travel status through your Travel Tracker before accepting the fare.
  • Those who travel together in a taxi should only include those who will be self-isolating together. Taxis should not be ‘shared’ between people self-isolating in different locations.  Please note, taxi fares from the airport may be more than the standard rate – please check with the operator when booking what your fare will be.

• Passengers must continue to wear face masks issued prior to boarding the aircraft until such time as they reach their final destination.
• When you leave the airport or harbour, you must go straight to your final destination. Do not stop to shop for groceries etc on the way.

Please note that buses and bicycles cannot be used as a means of transport to your self-isolation address. Walking also cannot be used as a means of transport to your self-isolation address.

We understand that you may have friends or relatives who wish to greet you on your arrival. However, as you are required to self-isolate, please ask them to do this from a distance, either waving to you from the airport viewing gallery or by the viewing platform or side of the harbour. There should be no physical contact, such as handshakes, hugs or kisses.

If you are leaving self-isolation for a test at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, you should follow the same guidance with regard to transport.

If you are required to provide proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 result for your travel destination or carrier, you can request this online using this form: https://gov.gg/outboundtraveller-pcr and the team will be in touch to book your test.

Pre-travel PCR tests will cost £83 per test. Our Primary Care colleagues have been providing this service in their own practices and travellers are able to continue using Primary Care for pre-travel testing but this new online system is an additional service which ensures testing can be undertaken 7 days a week.

Outbound travellers should complete the online form 48 hours before the test is required. Results will be sent via email within 24 to 48 hours (the processing time may be quicker). The email will include a letter confirming the negative result which can be shared with your travel destination or carrier.

A £25 charge will be applied for each test required as part of your arrival in the Bailiwick. This includes your test on arrival if required, and your test on either Day 7 or Day 13 (depending on which Category you have travelled from).

You can pay this charge through your Travel Tracker account.

You are not required to pay this charge if you are:

• A child under-12
• Travelling for medical reasons
• Accompanying someone who is travelling for medical reasons
• Travelling for compassionate reasons