Under current rules, foreign travel from the UK is banned apart from for exceptional reasons, however, those in England could go abroad for holidays from 17th May, following a review on travel rules.
The UK Department for Transport has announced that from Monday 15th March, passengers travelling internationally from England will have to carry a form stating their trip is permitted. It will be an offence if you fail to produce a completed form, facing a fine of £200. But once travel from UK is allowed again from May 17th, the successful vaccination programme in UK makes British tourists especially attractive to countries wanting to attract holidaymakers, especially European countries traditionally popular with Brits.
Portugal is currently on the UK's red list, meaning travellers coming Portugal have to quarantine in the UK when they arrive, but Portugal's secretary of state for tourism, Rita Marques, has said "I do believe that Portugal will soon allow restriction-free travel, not only for vaccinated people, but those who are immune or who test negative. We hope to welcome British tourists from 17th May."
She added that the situation in Portugal was "stable" and said, "Everything will be ready by mid May."
The UK government says the red list remains under review, with public health the UK's top priority.
The decision to lift restrictions on travel abroad still depends on vaccine rollout in the UK and abroad, the effectiveness of the vaccine, the prevalence of the virus and its variants.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have not set a date for the start of international travel. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she hopes a certification scheme could allow vaccinated holidaymakers to journey abroad - but warned Scotland was still "some way away" from such a programme. She said she could not advise people to "fly off to the sun" before there was a degree of certainty it could be done without risk.
