International Departures from England Required to Complete Official Declaration

From 8 March 2021, all travellers departing England must complete an official declaration confirming the reason for travelling abroad.

Under England's current lockdown restrictions it is illegal to leave home without a reasonable excuse and people are only allowed to travel abroad if they have a legally permitted reason. As such, travelling abroad for a holiday is illegal and will remain so until 17 May 2021, at the earliest.

The UK Government has said that the legally permitted reasons for travelling abroad are: work; volunteering; education; medical or compassionate reasons; to attend a wedding, funeral or related event; to fulfill legal obligations; and to carry out activities related to buying, selling, letting or renting a residential property.

As entering a port of departure to travel internationally without a completed form is a criminal offence, travellers must print a copy of the completed form or save it to a mobile phone or other device.

They should also be able to show proof of the reason for travelling abroad. For work, this could include an employer’s letter, professional ID card, confirmation from sports body or evidence of participation, diplomatic mission letter, for example.

If someone tries to travel abroad without a legally permitted reason, they could receive multiple fines, including one for breaching the stay at home requirement.

Airlines, trains and ferry companies will be required to check that passengers have completed the form and have a valid reason to travelling abroad.

As with many of the UK's other travel restrictions, there is quite an extensive list of people who are exempt from completing the declaration form because of the job they do.

Different rules also currently apply for international travel from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The Travel Declaration form can be downloaded from the UK Government's website in multiple formats, here.

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