From Monday 1 November, eligible travellers from Sri Lanka with appropriate proof of vaccination will qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to the UK.
To be treated as fully vaccinated, travellers must be able to prove that they have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arrival, with a vaccine recognised by the UK: Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen. Formulations of these vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Moderna Takeda, also qualify as approved vaccines. Travellers must also be able to provide a vaccination certificate from a national or state-level public health body which includes minimum data fields including their date of birth.
Before travelling to the UK, fully vaccinated travellers must complete a passenger locator form to be completed in the 48 hours before arrival, and book and pay for a COVID-19 test to be taken before the end of day 2.
Those who do not meet 'fully vaccinated' rules will need to follow guidelines set out on: Travel to England from another country during coronavirus (COVID-19) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This includes quarantining at home or in the place they are staying for 10 full days on arrival.
A spokesperson from the British High Commission in Colombo said:
"This is great news for passengers, businesses and the travel sector, and a step in the right direction for international travel. The extension of vaccine certification is a further step to enable people to travel more freely again, in a safe and sustainable way, while protecting public health."