Foreign Office relaxes advice for UK travellers to 51 destinations
The Foreign Office is lifting restrictive COVID travel advice for a further 51 countries and territories.
Destinations that are having the “all but essential travel” advice lifted today comprise of former amber list nations such as Jamaica and The Bahamas.
A second stage will see 42 ex-red list countries and territories having the advice removed on Monday, including South Africa, Mexico and the Seychelles (scroll down for the full list).
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With the advice lifted, people will be able to get travel insurance again for those destinations as most insurers use it as a reference point to exclude cover.
The move comes two days after 32 countries and territories, including Fiji, Malaysia and Bangladesh, had the advice lifted as the government aims to simplify travel in the wake of the success of the vaccine rollout, better understanding of the virus and improved public health in those destinations.
The advice was initially put in place due to the COVID situation in those countries and territories and was focused on people departing from the UK.
On Monday, the traffic light system – related to inbound travel to the UK – was dropped in favour of just one red list.
The red list was then reduced to just seven countries on Thursday, with 47 destinations coming off the red list from Monday.
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‘We want to change travel tests by half term’
Countries and territories where ‘all but essential travel’ advice has been lifted today:
The Bahamas, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Martinique, Palau, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Western Sahara.
Countries and territories where ‘all but essential travel’ advice will be lifted on Monday:
Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
French Polynesia was one of the countries to have its travel advice lifted on Wednesday
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “These updates make travel abroad easier – boosting trade, tourism and reuniting friends and families.
“I am delighted that the safe reopening of travel allows people to exercise personal responsibility and visit more destinations across the globe.”
The government has said the advice will be reintroduced or not lifted in “exceptional circumstances”, such as if the local healthcare system is overloaded by a domestic COVID outbreak.
Some countries and territories will continue to carry the advice to not travel there apart from essential travel, but it will be because of other circumstances such as instability, not COVID.
Institutional investors are maintaining confidence in digital assets despite a sharp market correction in October, with most planning to expand their exposure in the months ahead, according to new research.
Over 61% of institutions plan to increase their cryptocurrency investments, while 55% hold a bullish short-term outlook, Swiss crypto banking group Sygnum said in a report released on Tuesday. The survey covered 1,000 institutional investors globally.
Roughly 73% of surveyed institutions are investing in crypto due to expectations of higher future returns, despite the industry still recovering from the record $20 billion market crash at the beginning of October.
However, investor sentiment continues facing uncertainty due to delays in key market catalysts, including the Market Structure bill and the approval of more altcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Related: Crypto investors flee visibility for anonymity as privacy coins surge 80%
While this uncertainty may carry over into 2026, Sygnum’s lead crypto asset ecosystem researcher, Lucas Schweiger, predicts a maturing digital asset market, where institutions seek diversified exposure with long-term growth expectations.
“The story of 2025 is one of measured risk, pending regulatory decisions and powerful demand catalysts against a backdrop of fiscal and geopolitical pressures,” he said, adding:
“But investors are now better informed. Discipline has tempered exuberance, but not conviction, in the market’s long-term growth trajectory.”
Despite October’s correction, “powerful demand catalysts” and institutional participation remained at an all-time high, with the growing ETF applications signaling more institutional demand, added Schweiger.
At least 16 crypto ETF applications are currently awaiting approval, which were delayed by the ongoing US government shutdown, now in its 40th day.
Related: China’s budget AI bots smash ChatGPT in crypto trading face-off
Crypto staking ETFs may be the next institutional catalyst
Crypto staking ETFs may present the next fundamental catalyst for institutional cryptocurrency demand.
Over 80% of the surveyed institutions expressed interest in crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), while 70% stated that they would start investing or increase their investments if these ETFs offered staking rewards.
Staking means locking your tokens into a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network for a predetermined period to secure the network and earn passive income in exchange.
Meanwhile, investors are now anticipating the end of the government shutdown, which could bring “bulk approvals” for altcoin ETFs from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, catalyzing the “next wave of institutional flows,” according to Sygnum.
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