Maldives has been removed from the United Kingdom’s travel red list following its most recent review.
UK’s Transport Ministry’s Secretary Grant Shapps said that starting from September 22, those travelling to the UK from Maldives will not have to undergo a quarantine period upon their arrival to the country. In addition to Maldives, Pakistan, Turkey and Sri Lanka have also been removed from UK’s red list.
Once the new travel policy comes into effect from Wednesday, travelers from UK will no longer need to self-isolate for 10 days when returning from the Maldives. Additionally, double-vaccinated people will no longer have to take a Covid test before they return to the UK from the Maldives Later in October, travellers will also be able to take a cheaper lateral flow test instead of the day 2 PCR test.
The UK initially added the Maldives to its green list in October 2020, but moved the country to the red list early this year following a sharp increase in Covid cases in the country. UK is traditionally one of the top tourist markets to the Maldives.