Allow fully vaccinated people coming from red list countries to isolate at home
103,999 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 10 June 2021; it closed on 10 December 2021. The Government responded on 6 July 2021.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Allow fully vaccinated people coming from red list countries to isolate at home
To allow fully vaccinated people who come from red listed countries to isolate at home instead of the hotel quarantine which is very expensive and non affordable. People need to go to see their families. Doctors who work for the whole year need to see their parents.
The hotel quarantine is very expensive and non affordable. I believe that there should be an exemption for fully vaccinated people and who had a negative PCR to isolate at their place of residence.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 6 July 2021; the petitions site lists the Department for Transport as responsible. Its summary:
Public health has always been our number one priority and we will not risk throwing away our hard-won achievements which have only been possible through the work of the British people
The opening 371 words of the 649-word response:
We recognise the impact that restrictions and this pandemic have had on many people. We have made enormous progress this past year in tackling the pandemic across Britain. That progress has been hard won and it is important that we do not risk undermining it now.
In 2019, UK residents took over 93 million trips abroad, for business, leisure and to visit friends and family. International travel is vital. It connects families who have been kept apart, boosts businesses and underpins the UK economy. It is absolutely essential that any steps we take now, lay the groundwork for a sustainable return to travel.
To protect the nation from the spread of Covid-19 particularly any new variants of concern, the government has put in place proportionate measures, informed by the latest scientific data and public health advice from a world-leading range of experts.
The purpose of our travel measures is to protect public health and the vaccine rollout as our top priority, while ensuring that our route out of the international travel restrictions is sustainable.
The traffic light system categorises countries based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Vaccination status is considered in the risk assessment, but the JBC is looking for the outcome of vaccination programmes, i.e. reduced levels of infection including variants of concern.
In the interests of continuing to protect public health, the public are being advised against leisure travel to countries categorised as ‘Amber’ and ‘Red’.
International arrivals from red-list countries or those who have departed from or transited through a red list country in the previous 10 days are required to quarantine for 10 days in a managed quarantine hotel and take a PCR test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8.
There are some instances where travellers might be able to get an exemption from needing to quarantine. These exemptions are exceptional and limited, and you will need evidence to support your request.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 1,875, came from Erith and Thamesmead.
100,604 of the signatures were from the UK and 3,395 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Erith and Thamesmead | 1,875 |
| Barking | 1,283 |
| Camberwell and Peckham | 1,229 |
| Greenwich and Woolwich | 1,171 |
| Thurrock | 1,091 |
| Bermondsey and Old Southwark | 1,008 |
| Dagenham and Rainham | 976 |
| West Ham | 975 |
| Lewisham, Deptford | 779 |
| East Ham | 764 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 38,140 |
| South East | 14,677 |
| East of England | 9,478 |
| North West | 7,286 |
| West Midlands | 6,305 |
| East Midlands | 4,312 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 3,824 |
| South West | 3,726 |
| Scotland | 3,358 |
| Wales | 1,687 |
| North East | 1,510 |
| Northern Ireland | 696 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on .
The Petitions Committee's summary of the debate:
The Petitions Committee has decided not to schedule a debate on this petition.
The Committee recognised the support that this petition has received. However, all remaining covid-19 international travel restrictions were removed for all passengers from 4am Friday 18 March.
Now the Government has removed all covid-19 travel restrictions, the request of this petition has been overtaken by events.
Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/all-covid-19-travel-restrictions-removed-in-the-uk
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/588072.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
69604df03c2f9dc6… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.