The reasons you CAN travel abroad – as Brits face £5k fine for going on foreign holidays
FROM Monday, Brits face fines up to £5,000 for going on holiday abroad under new lockdown laws if returning to England or Wales.
Currently, non-essential travel is banned which includes all holidays and leisure trips.
This hopes to be lifted from May 17 for trips abroad although experts have warned this ban is likely to be in place all summer due to the Covid situation abroad.
The Health Protection Regulations 2021 laws come into force on March 29.
According to the legal document: "The Regulations also impose restrictions on leaving the United Kingdom without a reasonable excuse (regulation 8)."
The law says no one may "leave England to travel to a destination outside the United Kingdom, or travel to, or be present at, an embarkation point for the purpose of travelling from there to a destination outside the United Kingdom" without a reasonable excuse.
Despite this, there are still reasons that travel is allowed, if it is deemed essential by the government.
This includes:
- Where it's necessary for work
- For study outside the UK
- For volunteer or charity work
- Elite sportspeople - for training or competitions
- To fulfil a legal obligation
- To seek medical assistance or appointments
- For the purpose of moving house or viewing a house to buy or rent
- To be at the birth of a child at the mum's request
- To visit someone in a hospice or care home - but only close friends and family
- To visit someone who is dying - close friends and family only
- To attend a funeral
- For childcare purposes
- You are getting married outside the UK
- Contact with siblings for children in care
- If you don't live in the UK permanently and are going home
The new travel laws come in on Monday as part of lockdown rules being lifted, but effectively there's no big change for holidays as they are already banned.
People will face a fine of £5,000 for breaking the new law, however.
Brits already have to also fill out a form if they do want to leave the country, stating their permitted reason to do so, or they will face a £200 fine for not having the right paperwork.
Ministers are due to make an announcement on April 12 as to whether foreign holidays will be allowed.
British Airways and EasyJet have confirmed they will cut back on summer flights across Europe in July and August because of the possibility trips abroad will still be banned.
The EU is facing a deadly third Covid wave thanks as many countries lag behind on their vaccine rollout.