Is it possible to travel to the UK for 3 days only ?

I am double vaxxed , and hoping i can visit my mother in London
from Swizterland for a weekend.

Would it be possible with day 2 home delivery test only


Has anyone here flown to the UK for a short trip during the last months ?


All info appreciated

Yes perfectly fine, just fill in the passenger locator form with your trip details and they will do the rest.

I have done multiple day trips, give a departure date on the contract form. You still need to book tests that can be cancelled if you choose the right provider

All the rules are on the website.
Yes you can.
Yes you can but you'd have to quarantine for the weekend there if not NHS vaccinated.
In theory you need all tests booked (if not NHS vaccinated) but I heard of someone booking in-clinic test then getting a refund when they weren't necessary.

All info is subject to change - it's said that quarantine-free entry and a reduction in testing for non-NHS vaccinated individuals will come "soon".

Swiss vaccinated people allowed in without quarantine from Monday 2 August. See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/u...cruise-restart

Still unclear for children. Here are the rules in force for amber countries until 2 August:

Children who are UK residents
On arrival in England, children aged 5 to 17 who are ordinarily resident in the UK:
must take a COVID-19 travel test on or before day 2
do not have to quarantine

Children who are not UK residents
On arrival in England, children aged 5 to 17 who are not ordinarily resident in the UK:
must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8
must quarantine at home or in the place they’re staying for 10 full days

I imagine they'll remove the residency requirement for children - but let's see.

Except if you've been in France in any way, shape or form. Then you still have to quarantine!

This is potentially another headache as my kids will be arriving on Saturday (after my 5 day test to release) and I will be collecting them from Heathrow. Given that they are UK passport holders I am inclined to put them down as UK residents under the widest definition of the term e.g. they can have multiple residencies.

The other headache is what will happen when they return to CH on the 15th August since they are obviously unvaccinated (ages 8 and 10) and having just looked at the Swiss website they need to quarantine on arrival.

Bear in mind the updated rules are so far for ENGLAND, not the UK ...

do you know of any providers that offer a refund? i need to enter and leave the same day. thanks.

I don't know what you need to do but there are transit exemptions that you might want to consider.

I'm very surprised that someone here mentioned that those scam testing companies offer any refunds. I've travelled a lot during pandemic and never came across a company that does that. 99.99% of them are scammy busineses that piggy back off big testing facilities used by NHS and others. As I understand the rules governing them are very shady which allows them to do pretty much anything they want. Once I got email from one of those "approved" testing providers saying they couldnt ship by Day 2/8 kit on time because someone "threatened" their stuff over email so they had to suspend the operations. I filed dispute with Amex to get the money back and did in the end.

Im going to the uk shortly (7 August) for a friends funeral. Leaving on day two - do i need a test? wouldn't get the result until I had already left... Obviously if I was staying longer I would.

Any advice on a cancellable test if I can cancel? Will they Check ive booked one at the border?

Appreciate there is a similar question above but this is for the post 2 August rules (ie no quarantine)

If I were you I’d book the cheapest day 2 test you can find, if it arrives take it on day 1 and return to lab. You’ll get the result by email whether you need it or not. Since your test CH side is covered through insurance, it seems the minimal cost to have a reference number for a booked day 2 test on Passenger Locator Form could save unnecessary hassle before boarding and on arrival.

My 2 rappen, sure someone else will think differently. I’ve travelled a decent amount since June ‘20 between CH, UK and Sweden - everything has gone smoothly at airport both ends with the right docs

My daughter went to the UK on the 19th and after reading the UK government website and the UK Embassy advice, it was not mentioned at all that the child had to be a UK resident, only ‘children returning to…’ with no limitations on how long they have been away.
I filled in all the forms, got her a pre-departure test, and her dad booked her day 2 test. She has not been quarantining, but, as we are all worried she has been socially distancing, masking, avoiding busy places etc, she has had her 1st vaccine.

She will quarantine on her return, and I have booked time off work to stay with her, and her 2nd vaccine is booked for the day she is released.

All very much a headache, but parental visits are important and we can’t have her missing one.

so basically there are no refundable tests?
just to land, go landside and take off again later the same day I need to pay 140 GBP per person for the pre-booked day 2 and 8 tests.

what a crock. country is doomed to fail. just another nail in the coffin.

"in the Swiss vaccination programme, will be able to travel to England without having to quarantine or take a day 8 test on arrival." gov.uk implies the day 8 one will no longer be required. Would be nice if they fleshed out to explain those visiting for one day or just one night (ie leaving on day1 as arrival counts as zero) what the form is in skipping a 'day 2' which you have booked but not used due to leaving day 0 or day 1.

Only had 2nd jab this week (early 40s).

The Expresstest company I use is pretty slick. They have a 4 lane, in car testing centre next to Brent Cross shopping centre and they are doing '00s a day. These guys are probably lobbying Boris and his mates hard to keep this cash cow going.

On my most recent trip I used Nationwide Pathology (following a bad experience w/Dante in May) The service was efficient and they are easy to reach (in my case there was a problem receiving sms code to access result).

They have a day 2 only test option for £40. There may be cheaper but if one is paying for something not actually needed it is nice to “get” something

Can somebody please clarify ?

C Permit
I am double vaxed in Switzerland.
UK national
Flying to London to see my mother Friday afternoon and returning Sunday morning

Why do I need to do a Day 2 test when I am travelling back to Zurich on that day ?
How do I do a day 2 test in this situation if its required
Would it be possible to do a home test ? but I don't see any point of that.