Can you avoid the new £5,000 fine for leaving the UK from today?

Holidaymakers from England and Wales who try and leave the country without an essential reason will be fined up to £5,000 from today (Monday), under a new travel ban which technically lasts until June 30th under new Covid regulations, which was approved by MPs in parliament last week, and applies to England and Wales. Separate rules will apply to Scotland who have yet to outline their own regulations.

Under the new laws, UK residents need a valid reason in order to travel abroad, of which there are a number of approved reasons. Foreign breaks were already banned, but as the country was under a stay at home ‘lockdown’ order, it was covered under those laws instead. This message is lifted today also, and is replaced with a ‘Stay Local’ slogan instead.

The Covid regulations will last until June 30^th but a decision could be made to lift travel restrictions earlier if the UK Government sees possible due to the evolution of the virus in their country. Ministers are set to make a final call on holidays on April 5th or April 12th, the PM said yesterday, with the next announcements scheduled for the 12^th, including about international travel, which will not be allowed before May 17^th.