LAL continues to welcome international students to our schools. There are different requirements for passengers arriving to the UK and Cape Town, depending on where they are travelling from.
Updated 11 October 2021
Students Travelling to the UK
The best information around for travelling to the UK at the moment can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-to-england-from-another-country-during-coronavirus-covid-19 and here: https://study.englishuk.com/covid-19-information/
This gives you information you will need before you travel such as the requirements for testing and quarantine from your country and how to book any PCR tests you might need.
There is now a short red list of countries and simplified travel measures for passengers arriving to the UK.
Vaccinated adults and under 18s from over 100 countries are now exempt from quarantine on arrival to the UK and only have to take one post-arrival Covid test, on day 2. It is important to note that the UK government does not recognise all vaccination. The government has a list of approved PCR test providers. These can be found here: https://www.find-travel-test-provider.service.gov.uk/test-type
Fully-vaccinated adults and all under 18s no longer need to take a pre-departure test, a day 8 PCR test or quarantine for 10 days.
You are considered ‘fully vaccinated’ if:
- you have had a complete course of the Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Moderna or Janssen vaccines, or a combination of these, at least 15 days before arrival AND
- you received your vaccine in a country that is on the list of countries with an approved vaccination programme (Approved COVID-19 vaccines and countries with approved COVID-19 proof of vaccination – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk))
- Under 18s from these countries follow the same rules as fully vaccinated adults.
Travellers must be able to prove they have been fully vaccinated for 15 days with either a digital or paper-based document displaying, at a minimum, their forename and surname; date of birth; vaccine brand and manufacturer; date of vaccination for every dose; country or territory of vaccination and/or certificate issuer.
From Monday 24 October, eligible vaccinated adults and under 18s from ‘approved countries’ can take a cheaper lateral flow test instead of a PCR test when they arrive in the UK. Fully vaccinated passengers still need to book a day two test in advance, but the lateral flow tests will be considerably less expensive and easier to administer than the current PCR tests. Lateral flow tests can be booked through the providers listed on GOV.UK from Friday 22 October. Passengers will be told to upload photos of their Covid-19 tests for verification. Until then day 2 PCR tests are still required.
Passengers who aren’t recognised as being fully vaccinated with authorised vaccines and certificates under England’s international travel rules, will still have to take a pre-departure test, a day 2 and day 8 PCR test and self-isolate for 10 days upon their arrival from a non-red list country. Test to Release will remain an option for unvaccinated passengers who wish to shorten their isolation period.
The government has a list of approved PCR test providers. These can be found here: https://www.find-travel-test-provider.service.gov.uk/test-type Here you can pre-book either day 2 or day 2 and day 8 tests depending on what you need. These should be booked before.
All arrivals into the UK must complete a passenger locator form online before you arrive in the UK. You can submit the form any time in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK. After you complete the form you will receive a QR code via email. You can print this out or show it on your phone as proof of completion. You will find the passenger locator form here: https://provide-journey-contact-details.homeoffice.gov.uk/passengerLocatorFormUserAccountHolderQuestion
On the passenger locator form you will need to provide the following information
- passport or other travel document details
- travel details including times and dates
- address details of where they will stay in the UK
- booking reference number(s) for any Covid travel tests they must take after arriving in the UK
Students Travelling to South Africa
Students coming to Cape Town will be expected to produce a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test that is not older than 72 hours from the time of departure from the country of origin to South Africa. This test must be conducted by a certified medical practitioner and should have the name and signature of the practitioner who conducted such test.
Upon arrival, you will be screened for any COVID-19 symptoms or for contact with people who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus.
You will also need to provide proof of accommodation address should they need to self-quarantine at the time of arrival in the country.
If you display any COVID-19–related symptoms or have been in contact with an infected person(s), you will be expected to take a mandatory COVID-19 test. This test will be at the students cost. If the COVID-19 test comes back positive, you will be subjected to a 10 day quarantine at a designated site. The accommodation at a quarantine site will be at the students cost.
Covid-19 Policy
Our covid-19 policy will cover how our operations will be affected and will ensure that staff, parents, students and agencies are aware of how LAL will handle all aspects of the programmes at our schools.
COVID-19 has created an ever-changing landscape with each government’s guidelines being different and circumstances changing all the time. It is extremely important for all third-party stake holders – parents, students and agencies – to check our policy regularly for changes which may have an effect on the trip to the UK or South Africa.
The below policy is written according to current guidelines and is subject to change.
You can download our covid-19 policy here