Medical reasons for not staying in a quarantine hotel
Who may quarantine in a different location to a quarantine hotel for medical reasons, and how to apply.
Added content about changes to restrictions as a result of the
SARS-COV-2 OMCIRON variant. Four more countries have been added to the red
list.
Applies to England
Red list update, Sunday 28 November 2021
South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe moved onto the red list at 12.00 midday Friday 26 November.
Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia moved onto the red list at 4am Sunday 28 November.
Check which countries and territories are on the red list and read the red list rules.
You should follow different guidance if you have not been in a country on the red list in the 10 days before you arrive in England.
Managed quarantine means staying in a specific hotel which has been set up to help protect the UK from new and potentially harmful variants of Coronavirus.
You only need to stay in managed quarantine (a quarantine hotel) if you arrive in England from a country that’s on England’s Coronavirus red list or have spent time in one of these countries in the 10 days before your arrival in England. You must stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days.
This page tells you about not having to quarantine in a quarantine hotel for medical reasons only.
See other pages for information on:
- compassionate reasons for not having to quarantine in a managed hotel
- exemptions for unaccompanied minors
- medical exemptions from having to get a COVID-19 vaccination
- job-related exemptions
Medical exemption from hotel quarantine
We may decide that you don’t need to stay in a quarantine hotel because of your health and that you should quarantine somewhere else instead. This is known as a ‘medical exemption from managed quarantine’.
It’s very rare for anyone to get a medical exemption from managed quarantine.
You need to apply for a medical exemption.
You can only get a medical exemption if:
- you are vulnerable because of a severe medical or health condition
- you need support to manage your medical or health condition, for example to remain stable, function normally, manage pain or reduce the risk of developing further medical conditions
- the quarantine hotel can’t provide you with access to the support you reasonably need
- your condition would be severely detrimentally impacted if you stayed in a quarantine hotel without this support
See the full reasons for getting a medical exemption in the International Travel Regulations.
How to apply for a medical exemption
You can apply for yourself or someone else can apply for you.
- Send an email to MQS_New_Exemptions@dhsc.gov.uk with this information:
- name, date of birth and address of the person you want to get the exemption for
- planned travel dates
- current location (city and country)
- which port of entry in England you wish to travel to (for example, Heathrow Airport, London)
- reason for travelling to England
2. When you’ve sent your first email, you will get an automated reply with a list of questions.
Answer the questions and attach your medical evidence to this email and send it back to us.
The evidence you send us must include information from a suitably qualified or registered medical practitioner to prove:
- your severe medical or health condition
- the support you reasonably need in the quarantine hotel in order to manage your severe medical or health condition
- the probable impact to your health if you had to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days without the necessary support
The medical practitioner should think about whether you could get the medical support you need in a quarantine hotel. For example, support over the telephone or by a family member joining you in quarantine.
Please show this guidance page to the medical practitioner who supplies the evidence that you send us with your application.
We’ll use the information you send us in this email to decide if you’ll get a medical exemption or not.
If you send multiple emails you risk delaying your application.
When to apply
Finish and send us your application for an exemption at least 14 days before you travel to England. This gives us time to look at the evidence and make a decision on your application.
If you don’t apply for an exemption 14 days before you travel, we may not be able to make a decision before you arrive in England. If that happens, you’ll need to book and pay to enter a quarantine hotel before you arrive in England.
Complex cases may take longer to consider.
After you apply
How decisions are made
We’ll look at your individual circumstances when we make our decision.
We may not agree to an exemption before you arrive in England if you make a request less than 14 days before you travel.
We’ll send you our decision in a letter by email.
Please check your email junk or spam folder for emails from us.
If you don’t get an exemption
If you don’t get a medical exemption you must stay in a quarantine hotel when you arrive in England. If you are concerned about this, you may wish to delay your travel or change your journey, for example by staying in a country that’s not on the red list for 10 days before you come to England.
If you decide to travel and you need support during your stay in a quarantine hotel, it’s important that you tell us your requirements and/or medical conditions when you make your managed quarantine booking.
Examples of medical conditions and/or requirements that you should tell us about before your visit include:
- a registered disability, for example, visual impairment
- needing a carer to stay in an adjoining room
- requiring a room equipped with disabled facilities, for example, walk-in showers
- specific dietary requirements, for example, due to a food allergy
Asking us to look again at our decision
If we don’t give you a medical exemption from managed quarantine, you may ask us to think again about that decision. This is called an administrative review.
You may request this review at any time, including during your stay in the quarantine hotel.
If you wish to request an administrative review, you should email the managed quarantine service (MQS) at MQS_new_Exemptions@dhsc.gov.uk. In the email, clearly say that you are asking for a review.
Email us:
- details of why you think the initial decision was incorrect
- additional evidence if you have any
- the reference number of your initial request
If you do get an exemption
If we say you don’t have to stay in a quarantine hotel, you’ll still have to quarantine in an alternative location, such as your home or the home of a friend or family member.
You’ll need to show evidence on arrival in England that you have:
- an official exemption letter stating that you do not have to quarantine in a quarantine hotel
- booked and paid for the day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 tests
See more information on what you must do when you get a medical exemption.
People travelling with you
If we decide that you do not have to stay in a quarantine hotel, that decision only applies to you. It does not automatically apply to anybody else that you’re travelling with.
A person travelling with you, who provides care for your medical or health condition, may also get permission to quarantine with you in a different location from a quarantine hotel. They will only get this permission if it allows them to support you while quarantining at the alternative place.
If you get an exemption and you’re travelling with a child (aged under 18), the child will still have to stay in a quarantine hotel. The child may stay in the quarantine hotel with another parent, guardian or appropriate adult who has travelled as part of your group.
If you are travelling with a child and there is no other appropriate adult in your group, your child may be able to get an exemption from staying in a quarantine hotel. Please tell us when you apply if you think this may apply to you.
Circumstances not covered by this guidance
If you’re planning to travel to the UK in the next 14 days and your situation is not covered by this guidance, email the following addresses for enquiries relating to:
- arrival from a red list country: MQS_Operations_Generalquery@dhsc.gov.uk
- arrival from a country not on the red list: dhsctesttrace.customerfeedbackteam@nhs.net
Last updated 28 November 2021
