Covid travel update for passengers arriving from or travelling to mainland China
The relaxation of China's Covid travel policy makes it easier for Chinese students to study in the UK in 2023, which is great news for English UK members hoping to welcome students from China in the coming months. Covid testing before travel is now the only requirement for inbound and outbound travel.
From Sunday 8 January 2023 Chinese nationals and certain visa holders can travel to China without needing to quarantine on arrival. All they need is a negative PCR Covid-19 test taken not more than 48 hours before they travel.
In response to current Covid-19 rates in China, the UK government has announced that from Thursday 5 January 2023 anyone arriving from mainland China to England need to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test no more than two days prior to departure.
This is a temporary measure and will be reviewed in due course. A sample of passengers arriving to the UK from China will be randomly tested on arrival, in order to help monitor for new Covid variants.
Currently, there are direct flights from China to England only. The UK government is in discussion on these arrangements with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Note that you cannot yet travel to China on a tourist or 10-year visa – these are likely to resume at some point in quarter two of this year.
For passengers travelling to the UK from all other countries, there are no Covid-related entry requirements.
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