All the countries on the Foreign Office’s updated list of ‘safe’ destinations
The FCDO is advising against all non-essential travel to most countries
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Your support makes all the difference.On 17 March, the Foreign Office (now known as FCDO) issued an unprecedented advisory: it warned against all non-essential international travel.
The advice was given in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which saw borders closed around the world and travellers stranded abroad.
It didn’t make leaving the UK illegal as such, but it did mean travel insurance was largely invalidated for those who went abroad against the advice.
Since then, the FCDO has softened its rules, with certain countries deemed “low risk” put on an exemption list.
This list has evolved drastically since early July, with new destinations added and struck off as Covid-19 infection rates rose and fell around the world.
Recent high-profile removals include holiday hotspots such as Spain, France, the Netherlands, Malta, Austria and Croatia.
Destinations can be removed at the last-minute with little warning for travellers; the FCDO says: “All our advice will remain under constant review to take into account the latest situation in each country.”
While these countries might be deemed ‘safe’, it’s worth remembering that quarantine restrictions may apply to British travellers returning from some of these destinations.
To complicate matters further, such measures may differ for holidaymakers returning to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Check the full list here.
Here’s the full list of destinations currently exempt from the FCDO’s advice against ‘all but essential’ international travel:
Europe
Cyprus
DenmarkEstoniaFinlandGermanyGibraltarGreece (not including Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos)IcelandIrelandItalyLatviaLiechtensteinLithuaniaMadeira and the Azores (not including mainland Portugal)
NorwayPolandSan MarinoSlovakiaSweden
Turkey
Americas
Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados
Bermuda
Canada
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curaçao
Dominica
Falkland Islands
Grenada
Martinique
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Maarten
St Martin and St Barthélemy
St Pierre and Miquelon
St Vincent and The Grenadines
Asia-Pacific
Australia
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei
Cambodia
Cook Islands
Fiji
Hong Kong
Japan
Laos
Macao
Malaysia
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Samoa
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
Wallis and Futuna
Africa
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Antarctica
British Antarctic Territory
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