New Delhi: British nationals arriving in India, irrespective of their vaccination status, will have to undergo 10 days of mandatory quarantine from October 4 as part of the reciprocal actions initiated by the government following the vaccine certification row between the two countries.
India has decided to impose reciprocal actions on British nationals arriving in India, official sources said as the issue relating to the UK not recognising Indian vaccine certificates could not be resolved.
They said India’s new regulations will come into effect from October 4 and they will be applicable to all British nationals arriving in India from the UK.
Under the norms, all British nationals arriving in India from the UK, irrespective of their vaccination status, will also have to undertake the pre-departure COVID-19 RT-PRC test within 72 hours before travel, the sources said.
They will also have to undertake COVID-19 RT-PCR test on arrival.
The British nationals, irrespective of their vaccination status, will again have to undertake RT-PCR test on Day 8 of their arrival in India, the sources said.
The British nationals will also have to undergo mandatory quarantine at home or in destination address for 10 days after arrival, they said.
These measures will come in the back of the UK government recently issuing an updated international travel advisory to include AstraZeneca Covishield among the eligible COVID-19 vaccine formulations but kept India out of the 18 countries on an approved vaccinations list, requiring Indians to follow rules set out for “non-vaccinated” travellers.
Despite the inclusion of Covishield, Indian travellers are not exempt from the quarantine rules under the UK’s new international travel norms that will come into force from October 4, with the British officials in New Delhi maintaining that the main issue is vaccine certification and not the vaccine and that both India and the UK are holding talks to mutually resolve the matter.