Key date 5 April

New laws come into force today (29 March) which could see travellers from England subject to a £5,000 fine if they leave the country without good reason.

If you are thinking of travelling overseas the only accurate way of ascertaining the present rules both here and abroad is via the official government website noted below.

Foreign holidays are currently banned under the ‘stay at home’ rule in force across England.

Under the current plan for easing restrictions, the earliest date people in England could go abroad for a holiday would be 17 May.

However, a surge in Covid-19 cases in continental Europe, as well as the slow rollout of vaccines, has cast doubt on the resumption of foreign travel.

“A lot of people do want to know about what’s going to happen on the holiday front and I know there’s a great deal of curiosity and interest,” Boris Johnson said at a No 10 press conference.

“All I can say is it’s just too early to say and my advice is to everybody to wait for the global travel taskforce to report.

“We’ve heard already that there are other European countries where the disease is now rising so things certainly look difficult for the time being but we will be able to say more we hope in a few days’ time, I certainly hope to say more by April 5.”

Johnson said it was “too early to say” whether foreign holidays will be allowed but rising cases in Europe meant “things certainly look difficult for the time being”.

Under the current road map for easing restrictions, the earliest date people in England could go on holiday abroad would be 17 May.

Reports suggest the ban on foreign travel could be extended until at least July.

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

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