Pricks, Prods and Paperwork — navigating international travel during COVID
It felt like the best news for years. International borders were opening in Australia after almost two years of being stuck on this lovely but far-away island continent. We have not seen family in the UK for over two years and during that time my father had passed away. We were desperate to get back to see loved ones. Little did we know the damned Omicron strain would make life a bit more difficult and risky, but we were determined to go.
So we took a deep breath and worked out what we had to do to get on the plane and get there. We did it over December and January, and I am back in Australia after a slightly extended stay (more on that below). My partner is still in Europe visiting cousins in Italy (which added a whole other level of complexity). How did we fare? Well let me tell you what we experienced and maybe help you smooth your path through the maze of international travel requirements.
Pricks
I mean the vaccination kind, not the politicians or bureaucrats, honest! Your vaccination status is your new passport. You can’t get anywhere without a valid vaccination certificate. We thought we were good for that with our double-dose back in August last year and to a point we were. The most inspected piece of paper in the whole trip was our international vaccination certificate. You couldn’t get on the plane without it, and you couldn’t get into the UK without it.
At the time we left, the talk of the booster shot was just gathering momentum but we weren’t yet eligible for it in Australia. However, when we get to Scotland (part of the UK but with its own set of COVID rules), you need to have the booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated. Well, they let us in to the country on our international certificate so that is what we were going by, which led to some interesting discussions later in the trip (see below).
Keeping your certificate current and a having paper copy (or more than one) is essential for easy passage through the various checks you will encounter.
And just as a little kicker to this one, my partner is now in Italy for a few days and was unaware that her double-dose certificate is not valid in Italy from 6 months after the last dose. It expired three days into her trip. She needed to have a booster for it to be valid and to get into shops, restaurants, public transport etc. It looks like she can get round that for the last few days of her visit with a negative PCR tests, but be aware the rules change quickly and often. Check out all the websites you can find — it often takes a bit of deep research to find the definitive answer. Government sites are really the only reliable source of truth.
Prods
Getting tested is the new norm. Whether that is the full on PCR test or the Rapid Antigen Test (also known as RAT or Lateral Flow), be prepared to have your tonsils and nose prodded on a regular basis. Again, you generally need a recent PCR test to get on an international flight (check the airline and country requirements) and be prepared to pay handsomely for the privilege as you need the result quickly. To visit the UK, I was PCR’d (is that a new verb?) on the morning of my flight from Australia and then again as soon as I arrived in Scotland. Both cost money.
Travelling anywhere else in Europe is effectively the same. You can’t get on a plane or train to another country without a test result (although the UK seems to have recently dropped this requirement — see what I mean about things changing fast).
Lateral Flow tests are important if you come into contact with a case or are unlucky enough to catch the damned virus. Yes, this happened to us as our son-on-law tested positive and had to isolate and about 10 days later I tested positive. When we were household or close contacts, we could take a daily RAT test and go about our business if it was a negative result. This only applies if you are fully vaccinated, and as international visitors there was some debate about our vaccination status. We took the decision that our international vaccine certificates were valid and therefore took this to mean we could go out as long as we were returning negative tests. So first thing in the morning we prodded our throat and nostrils and waited nervously for the verdict.
It was the following week when I felt a bit feverish and started coughing. Nothing too bad, but the signs were ominous. And sure enough, a couple of days later I tested positive. The annoying thing was that I was feeling pretty much fine by then — one of the lucky ones in that respect.
I had to wait out my isolation and thankfully my airline ticket was flexible so I moved my flights. Now when I was in isloation, Australia announced you only needed a negative RAT test result to get back in the country. Happy at that news I booked that for the day of my re-arranged flight, confident that I would be clear by then. Well that plan was scuppered when the airline emailed me five days before my flight to say that anyone transiting through Dubai from the UK now had to have a PCR test. So change of plan for the test (and another AU$250 for the privilege) to make it as close to my departure and still allow time to get the result. It was a nervous wait even though my RAT test was clear as I had heard of others still testing positive on PCRs weeks after the symptoms had gone. Thankfully it was clear and I could head home, armed with all the checks and test results I needed.
Paperwork
The amount of form filling you have to do now has increased exponentially. From Passenger Locator Forms (UK) to Australian Travel Declarations and French affidavits, there are a lot of forms to fill in. Other countries will be the same. Most of these have to be done just shortly before your journey, and they are almost all online. Make sure you have online access wherever you are and print our hard copies if you can. It will save time and angst.
Was it worth it?
Of course it was. The joy of seeing family after so long far outweighs the perceived hassles of international travel. Just be prepared and patient and it will all work out. My tips are:
- Get vaccinated and boosted — you almost can’t go anywhere unless you are. (If you are anti-vaxx, then take that up with your politicians, I’m just relating the facts as they stand.)
- Be prepared to be tested multiple times and to pay for them. Commercial PCR testing is not cheap and most countries will only accept certified tests.
- Get your paperwork in order and have it handy anywhere you are getting on a plane, train or bus.
- Constantly check the government websites in the country you are in or are planning to travel to. Things change quickly!
It’s going to be ‘different’ from what we were used to for a while. If you can accept that and be prepared, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t jump on that plane and go to see some people and places. I did and lived to tell the tale.