Nigeria’s COVID-19 vaccine certificate will be recognised in UK from October 11

The country in a statement on its website on Thursday, October 7, 2021, said fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria will be able to enter England from Monday, October 11, 2021, without observing self-isolation.

According to the statement, Nigerians that arrive in the country before the date are expected to follow the rules for the people who are not fully vaccinated.

Before now, fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria were expected to self-isolate for 10 days. 

The statement reads, “From Monday, October 11, 2021, fully vaccinated travellers from Nigeria will be able to enter England without the need to provide a pre-departure test or undertake a day 8 test or self-isolate for 10 days, although we still need to book and pay for a day 2 test. This policy applies to those fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca (including Covidshield), Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen (Johnson and Johnson).

“If you arrive in England before that date, you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated. If you arrive after that, you can use a vaccine certificate to prove your vaccination status.

“Fully vaccinated means that you have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.

“You must be able to prove that you have been fully vaccinated under a vaccination programme and have a valid proof of vaccination recognised by the British Government (for Nigeria, the certificates with valid QR codes as issued by Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) are recognised).”

The UK government, however, urged those not fully vaccinated to comply with COVID-19 directives by taking a pre-departure COVID-19 test, which has to be taken in three days before travel.

The traveller must also book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 tests. This is expected to be taken after arriving in England and complete a passenger locator form.

The UK authority also said the traveller, on arrival would need to quarantine for 10 days and take a pre-booked COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8.