On October 1st, in response to UK quarantine regulations, India had imposed mandatory 10-day quarantine for British citizens regardless of their vaccination status traveling to India.
British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis on Thursday, ending a dispute over quarantine rules said, "No quarantine for Indian travellers to UK [who are] fully vaccinated with Covishield or another UK-approved vaccine from 11 October. Thanks to Indian government for close cooperation over last month," he tweeted.
On October 1st, in response to UK quarantine regulations, India imposed mandatory 10-day quarantine for British citizens regardless of their vaccination status traveling to India and citizens of various nations, including those vaccinated with the UK-approved Covishield. The British government, labeled as discriminatory and even "colonialist", faced violent backlash for refusing to recognize visitors as vaccinated unless they were given their injections in a handful of selected countries.
"I'm also making changes to reduce entry requirements for travelers visiting England, and I am recognizing and treating people with full VAT status from 37 new countries and territories including India, Turkey and Ghana in the same way as UK passengers with full Value Added Tax," Secretary of State for Transportation, Grant Shapps tweeted. "The decision was taken following close technical cooperation between our ministries, taking into account public health factors," a UK High Commission spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.
The spokesman said the UK is reviewing efficacy data and information on international vaccine launches and is constantly reviewing visa requirements during the pandemic to keep borders open as travel resumes gradually and safely.
If a citizen is not completely vaccinated with any of the dose among UK-approved Oxford / AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen vaccines, or any formulation of these vaccines, including Covishield, the person will have to undergo a prenatal test and a COVID19 -Take test. Indian Foreign Minister Harsh Shringla called the UK rules "discriminatory" and warned that "mutual action" might be warranted.
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