Published: 08/04/2021 By The Abode Team
Travel between the UK and Italy has been tightly restricted since December 2020, when a highly infectious coronavirus variant was identified in England and the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union took full effect. The Italian government restricted entry from the UK to Italian citizens, foreign residents of Italy or people with an essential reason to travel, meaning that Brits who live in the UK couldn’t visit Italy as tourists. As of Wednesday, April 7th, those rules have changed.Here’s what you need to know.
Non-residents are allowed to visit - Under the Italian Health Ministry’s latest ordinance on international travel, valid from April 7th to 30th, people from the UK may enter Italy on the same terms as travellers from within the European Union. (The same conditions have also been applied to travellers from Israel, which like the UK has already vaccinated large numbers of its population against Covid-19.) That means that entry is no longer restricted to residents of Italy or people travelling out of absolute necessity. Italian rules now allow UK residents to enter Italy for any reason, including tourism – though the UK’s ban on overseas holidays continues to apply. Brits must also abide by the usual immigration rules for non-EU nationals, meaning that they can only visit for 90 out of 180 days without a visa.
Shorter quarantine and different testing rules - Instead of isolating for 14 days on arrival, people entering Italy from the UK are now required to spend just five days in quarantine. You can quarantine at a place of your own choice, but once you arrive in Italy you must travel there using private transport only (such as a taxi). You must still test negative before departing, however – and now the window has been shortened from 72 to 48 hours before your arrival in Italy. Either molecular (PCR) or rapid antigen swab tests are accepted, and results can be in English. You no longer have to get tested immediately on arrival in Italy, but you will need a second test after completing five days of quarantine here. Both molecular and antigen tests are widely available from private providers in Italy, including at many pharmacies.
Entry paperwork
People travelling from the UK should fill in this self declaration form.pdf in English from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, giving details of their journey. You should also inform the local health authority in the region of Italy to which you are travelling where you plan to quarantine and how they can reach you. Find regional contacts here
Overseas holidays from the UK remain forbidden - The rules may have been eased on the Italian side, but the biggest barrier to travel from the UK remains the British government’s ban on non-essential travel overseas. It is currently illegal to travel abroad from the UK for holidays and will remain so until May 17th at the earliest. Downing Street is due to give more information shortly about when international travel will resume, with rules expected to be different depending on other countries’ level of Covid-19 risk.
While we do not know which countries might be on the British government’s proposed “green list” for unrestricted travel, Italy’s high case numbers and slow vaccination rollout seem likely to put it in a higher risk category for at least a while longer. In the meantime, the Foreign Office advises against “all but essential travel” to anywhere in Italy.
Travel within Italy is tightly restricted - Even if you do make it over here, don’t expect a holiday in any usual sense of the word. The whole of Italy is under tightened restrictions until at least the end of April, with all non-essential travel between towns and regions forbidden and a nightly curfew in place. Museums, galleries, theatres and concert halls are all closed, and bars and restaurants cannot serve customers on the premises. And in the nine regions of Italy that are currently “red zones” under maximum restrictions, you’re not even supposed to leave home except for essentials. As for residents of Italy who wish to visit the UK, they are allowed to travel but must comply with British entry precautions, including testing negative before departure (with results in English, French or Spanish), quarantining on arrival for five to ten days, and getting a further two tests in the UK. Find more information here. Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to advise residents to avoid travelling abroad if they can possibly help it, warning that new restrictions may be introduced at short notice in response to rising cases or new variants. Find more information about travelling to or from Italy on the Health ministry's website in (English).