It has been announced that from 17th May, Portugal will be on England’s Green List for travel. The transport secretary said the UK’s approach was “necessarily cautious”, but the travel industry has said it is too cautious and called it a reopening of air travel “in name only”.
As it stands, if you travel to England from Portugal before 17th May you must follow the relevant amber list or red list rules.
Until 17th May, you can only travel abroad from England if you have a legally permitted reason to do so. You must complete a declaration form for international travel.
From 17th May you will not need to complete a declaration form to travel abroad.
At the time of writing, (10th May) Portugal has not yet lifted its ban on incoming travel from the UK except for exceptional reasons. This rule is likely to be relaxed from early June, when Portugal (and the wider EU) lift their travel ban on incoming UK visitors to allow visitors and holiday makers to enter Portugal, subject to the rules laid out below.
Travelling abroad from England
You should not travel to amber list or red list countries or territories for leisure purposes.
According to the Portuguese Government, you will be required to show a negative RT-PCR test result for SARS/COVID-19 taken within 72 hours of departure (not required for children aged 2 or under), see the Portuguese Immigration Service website. Your airline is likely to deny boarding if you cannot provide evidence of a negative RT-PCR test at check-in. Check with your airline before you travel.
For more information on travel advice to Portugal, go to https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/portugal
Before travel to England
Before you travel to England you must:
complete a passenger locator form
take a COVID-19 test
book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test
You must have only been in or travelled through a green list country or the Common Travel Area in the previous 10 days, for these travel to apply. If you have been in an amber list or red list country, CLICK HERE to see current guidelines.
On arrival in England
You must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after you arrive.
You do not need to quarantine unless the test result is positive.
You must self-isolate if NHS Test & Trace informs you that you travelled to England with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status when travelling abroad
From 17th May, people in England who have had a full vaccine course (2 doses), will be able to demonstrate their COVID-19 vaccination status for outbound international travel.
Other countries or territories determine their own border health rules, which may include COVID-19 vaccination status. Check the entry requirements for your destination before travelling.
Source: Algarve Daily News and UK GOV