(CNN) – British people who try to go on vacation while travel restrictions are still in place could be fined $ 7,000 under new government law.
The UK’s new “Roadmap Regulations”, released Monday, propose that anyone traveling outside of England “without a reasonable excuse” should be fined £ 5,000 ($ 6,932).
Parliament will vote on the legislation a year after the UK’s first lockdown was introduced.
Non-essential travel is currently prohibited under the restrictions of Covid-19. Under the command “Stay at home”, anyone leaving the country must complete a travel declaration form explaining the nature of their journey. Residents of the UK returning home are questioned by border personnel about the reasons why they traveled.
Currently, the fine is £ 200 for failing to complete a travel declaration form.
If passed, the £ 5,000 flat-rate fine will take effect Monday, March 29.
The new law will remain in effect until June 30, meaning non-essential travel will be banned for another three months. Until now, May 17 was the earliest date for resumption of international travel.
Europe on the Red List?
It is said that France could end up on the UK’s red list.
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Government officials have repeatedly warned the public that there is no guarantee that they will be able to go on vacation abroad this summer.
On Monday, Health Minister Lord Bethell suggested that all of Europe could end up on the UK’s “Red List” with countries with dangerously high Covid-19 levels. His boss, health secretary Matt Hancock, has said there are currently no plans to do so.
Travelers entering England or Wales from Red List countries must be quarantined for 10 days in a hotel upon arrival for a fee of £ 1,750 ($ 2,400) per person.
At the moment there are no European countries, although there is a possibility that France will be placed on them, after a wave of cases involving the South African variant. Portugal has been removed from the list after a decrease in the number of cases.
If passed, the travel ban will be reassessed no later than April 12, and every 35 days thereafter.
The legislation imposes fines on people at airports or “embarkation points for traveling from there to a destination outside the UK.”
The £ 200 fine for those caught without a completed travel declaration form, even when traveling for essential reasons, will remain.
Exceptions to the legislation include those for whom it is “reasonably necessary” to travel for work, voluntary work or study abroad. People traveling for a limited number of emergencies are also exempt, as are those living abroad.
Those traveling to the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland are also exempt. However, if you travel to Ireland and then fly on to another country you will be fined £ 5,000.
The governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland make their own travel decisions. Currently, Wales is following England’s guidelines and Scotland is quarantining all travelers for 10 days in state-run facilities, regardless of where they come from.
Until now, Scotland and Wales had tipped 17 May as the earliest possible date for international travel, along with England. Northern Ireland had not yet made any statements.
Introducing the draft legislation, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a statement:
“These measures have been vital in reducing infections, hospitalizations and deaths across the country, and thanks to the commitment and support of the people, we have made strong progress.
“We are right to end as many national measures as possible, as safely as possible, while maintaining the measures that remain necessary and proportionate to further help reduce and control infections, as we gently but irreversibly relax restrictions and continue our historic vaccination program unabated. “