The United Kingdom has announced that from Monday, October 11, fully vaccinated Nigerian travelers will no longer be required to self-isolate.
A statement on Thursday from the British High Commission office in Nigeria read:
“From Monday, 11 October 2021, fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria will be able to come to England without needing to provide a pre-departure test, undertake a day 8 test or self-isolate for 10 days, although will still need to book and pay for a day 2 test.”
Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen are the permitted vaccines, according to the UK, and the traveller must have completed a full course of any of the vaccines at least 14 days before arriving in England.
“Fully vaccinated means that you have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days. You must be able to prove that you have been fully vaccinated under a vaccination programme and have a valid proof of vaccination recognised by the British Government (for Nigeria, the certificates with valid QR codes as issued by Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency are recognised).”
This news comes only days after the UK announced that Nigeria had been transferred from the amber to the green list, making it essential for all Nigerian travelers, regardless of vaccination status, to undergo COVID-19 tests and quarantine upon arrival in the UK.
The Acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, said that the exemption of fully-vaccinated Nigerians travelling to the UK from providing a pre-departure test and self-isolating for 10 days, is a very welcome development.
He added that they had been working closely with Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency on recognising Nigeria’s vaccine certification, which they have successfully done.
