Fully vaccinated travellers from the UK heading to India will not need a pre-departure test or undergo home quarantine on arrival from next week.
An update from the UK Foreign Office said the changes to the Covid-19 entry rules will come into force from Monday (February 14).
Travellers who show they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will no longer have to take a PCR test to enter, and their need for a PCR test on the eighth day of arrival has also been removed.
The changes also see an end to their requirement for seven days of mandatory home quarantine – instead, vaccinated arrivals are required to undergo 14 days of self-monitoring.
All travellers, regardless of vaccination status, need to submit a self-declaration form online via the Air Suvidha portal before they arrive.
The Foreign Office says scheduled international flights remain suspended but a “limited number of flights” are currently operating between India and the UK under a bilateral agreement.
These arrangements may be subject to change at short notice and the aviation sector remains unpredictable, warns the advisory.
All travellers will be subject to thermal screening by health officials on arrival.
• Elsewhere, the government of French Polynesia has dropped the need for visitors to take a PCR test two days before their departure flight.
It means travellers to the islands of Tahiti have to present a negative Covid-19 negative result from an antigen or PCR test, carried out less than 24 hours before their departure for French Polynesia.
Travellers will still be required to take a test on arrival at Tahiti airport but there will be no additional cost.
Access from the UK is usually via Paris or Los Angeles with connections from Air Tahiti Nui.