Guidance

Coming to England for seasonal agricultural, horticultural work or pork processing

Advice for seasonal agricultural, horticultural workers and pork butchers coming to England to work on farms or processing sites or at slaughterhouses, and their employers.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Published
3 June 2020
Last updated
8 March 2022 — See all updates

This guidance was withdrawn on

This guide is out of date. Read current guidance about:

Applies to England

From 24 February you will no longer be legally required to self-isolate if you:

  • test positive for COVID-19 - new government guidance will advise people who test positive to stay at home and avoid contact with other people
  • are an unvaccinated close contact

If you are a fully vaccinated close contact, you will no longer be advised to test for 7 days.

New government guidance will set out precautions for reducing risk to yourself and others.

You and your employer should follow this guidance if you are coming to England to carry out the following:

  • seasonal agricultural work on a farm to pick fruit and vegetables
  • certain horticulture activities at a farm, nursery or glasshouse
  • pork processing at a slaughterhouse, processing site or farm

Horticultural activities include growing:

  • protected and field vegetables
  • soft and top fruits
  • vines and bines
  • mushrooms
  • bulbs and cut flowers
  • pot plants
  • hardy ornamental nursery stock

Pork processing includes:

  • slaughtering and butchering pigs
  • preparing and processing pig meat (pork)

If you’re travelling from countries and territories not on the red list the rules depend on your vaccination status.

This guidance applies to you if you have the right to come to the UK to do this work - this applies if you are an EU worker with settled or pre-settled status or if you have a visa for seasonal agricultural, horticultural work or pork processing.

What you must do when you arrive in England depends on whether you:

  • have been in a red list country in the 10 days before you arrive
  • arrive from a country or territory not on the red list - this applies whether you are fully vaccinated or not

Before you travel to the UK from any country

Check if you qualify as fully vaccinated for COVID-19

You are fully vaccinated for coronavirus (COVID-19) if you have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.

You must have been vaccinated by one of the following:

Even if you are not fully vaccinated, the fully vaccinated rules apply if you:

  • are under 18 and resident in the UK or one of the approved countries
  • are taking part in an approved COVID-19 vaccine trial in the UK or the USA (US residents only for USA trials)
  • cannot have a COVID-19 vaccination for a medical reason which has been approved by a clinician under the medical exemptions process, and you are resident in the UK

Read about applying for a medical exemption from vaccination using the NHS COVID-19 Pass.

Proving your COVID-19 vaccination status

If you are fully vaccinated under the UK vaccination programme, you can prove your vaccination status using either:

Paper certificates are also available from the NHS website.

If you were vaccinated outside of the UK, check what proof you need to give for the country or territory where you were vaccinated.

If you cannot prove that you qualify under the fully vaccinated rules, you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated.

Fill in a passenger locator form

If you started your journey in Ukraine or Russia you do not need to fill in a passenger locator form.

Before you travel to the UK from any country or territory you must fill in a passenger locator form 48 hours before you arrive in England.

You will need to include:

  • countries you have visited in the last 10 days
  • details of your journey
  • your contact details
  • the addresses where you will work and live in England - give wherever you are staying as your main residential address (this could be the farm, or separate accommodation if you are a horticultural worker or pork butcher and will not be staying at the farm, processing site or slaughterhouse)

If you are travelling from a country not on the red list and are not fully vaccinated, you will also have to give other information. On the passenger locator form, under ‘Testing after you arrive’, you should answer the following questions:

  • ‘Are you required to book a COVID-19 test package for when you arrive in the UK’ - select ‘no I am exempt’
  • ‘Reason for exemption’ - select ‘seasonal and temporary horticultural and food processing worker’

Arriving in England

You will need to prove at UK border controls that you are coming to England to work as a seasonal agricultural, horticultural worker or a pork butcher. Read guidance on what you will need to show when you arrive at the UK border.

If you are arriving from a red list country and will be staying in a managed hotel quarantine for your first 10 days in England you should make sure you have enough essential supplies such as clothing and medicine.

You should not travel if you have COVID-19 symptoms. If you develop COVID-19 symptoms when you are travelling to England, you should tell:

  • the crew on your plane, boat or train
  • the driver if you are travelling by bus or coach

They will let staff in the airport, port or station know, so they can tell you what you must do when you arrive.

Travelling from a country on the red list

If you have been in a country or territory on the red list during the 10 days before you enter the UK, you must take a COVID-19 test in the 2 days before your departure date. The test must show a negative result for COVID-19. You will not be allowed to enter the UK if you receive a positive test result.

You must:

Travelling to the farm, your accommodation, or processing site accommodation

When your managed quarantine has ended, you can travel to the address where you will live in England.

Travelling from a country not on the red list if you are not fully vaccinated

If you started your journey in Ukraine or Russia, you do not need to:

  • fill in a passenger locator form
  • take a COVID-19 test before travel to England or book a test to take on arrival

If you are not fully vaccinated, you must:

  • take a COVID-19 test in the 2 days before your departure date - your test must show a negative result for COVID-19 (you will not be allowed to enter the UK if your test result is positive)
  • stay at the address you provided in the passenger locator form

Travelling to your accommodation

You must go straight to your accommodation from your point of arrival in the UK. This will either be:

  • the farm, processing site or slaughterhouse, if you are living and working there
  • other accommodation, if you are not staying at the farm, processing site, slaughterhouse or other premises where you will be working

Someone you will be staying with should collect you from the airport, port or station.

If someone cannot collect you, you can use public transport to get to your accommodation.

Testing after you arrive in England

You must take a rapid lateral flow test before the end of day 2. The day you arrive in England is day 0.

Travelling from a country not on the red list if you are fully vaccinated

Check if you qualify as fully vaccinated.

Check what proof is required for the country or territory where you were vaccinated.

If you qualify as fully vaccinated for travel to England, you:

  • do not need to take a COVID-19 test before or after you travel
  • do not need to quarantine when you arrive

If you cannot prove that you qualify under the fully vaccinated rules, you must follow the rules for people who are not fully vaccinated.

Travelling to your accommodation

You should travel directly to the address you provided in the passenger locator form when you arrived at the border and stay there.

While you are in England

Your employer may place you into a group of workers that you will live and work with.

When carrying out work on the farm you should:

You are at higher risk of catching or passing on COVID-19 in crowded and enclosed spaces where there is limited fresh air.

You should wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces where you come into contact with people you don’t usually meet and whenever asked to do so. Read guidance on wearing a face covering.

You should consider taking a rapid lateral flow test before going to crowded and enclosed spaces, or before visiting people who are at higher risk of severe illness if they get COVID-19.

You should follow guidance for how to stay safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

If you are a contact of someone with COVID-19

If you have been identified as a contact of someone with COVID-19 you must self-isolate for 10 days from the last day you were in contact with them, unless you:

  • are fully vaccinated
  • are under the age of 18 years 6 months
  • have taken part in or are currently part of an approved COVID-19 vaccine trial
  • are not able to get vaccinated for medical reasons

If you have been identified as a contact of someone with COVID-19 you are strongly advised to take a rapid lateral flow test every day either:

  • for 7 days
  • until 10 days since your last contact with the person who tested positive for COVID-19 if this is earlier

If you get COVID-19 symptoms

Stay at home and self-isolate immediately if you get any of the following symptoms, even if these symptoms are mild:

  • continuous cough
  • high temperature
  • loss of or change to your sense of smell or taste

If you have any of these symptoms of COVID-19, arrange to have a PCR test by ordering it online or by calling 119. You do not need to take a PCR test if you have already taken a rapid lateral flow test and the result was positive.

Use the NHS 111 online service, or call 111 if:

  • you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms
  • your condition gets worse
  • your symptoms do not get better after 7 days

For a medical emergency call 999.

Take a rapid lateral flow test

Rapid lateral flow tests are free. You take the test yourself and report your own result.

To report the result, follow the instructions included with the testing kit. Reporting your result is important to keep yourself and others safe.

Find out where you can get tests.

You could be fined if you do not take the tests you must take. You may receive phone calls to check you have taken the test.

Ask your employer if you need help taking a rapid lateral flow test.

You should follow guidance on COVID-19 test results.

If your rapid lateral flow test is positive

If you get a positive result from a rapid lateral flow test, you should follow the guidance for people with COVID-19

You do not need to confirm the result with a PCR test. You should only arrange to have a follow-up PCR test if:

  • you wish to claim the Test and Trace Support Payment
  • you have a health condition that means you may be suitable for new COVID-19 treatments
  • you are taking rapid lateral flow tests as part of research or surveillance programmes, and the programme asks you to do so
  • you are an international arrival and have a positive day 2 rapid lateral flow test

If you test positive, report your result to the NHS Test and Trace. You will be asked to share your contacts with the NHS Test and Trace service. This includes each person in the group that you live and work with. The information you gave in your passenger locator form may be used to alert people who travelled to the UK with you.

How to self isolate when you test positive for COVID-19

If your rapid lateral flow test or PCR test is positive, you must self-isolate for 10 days from the day your symptoms started or, if you do not have symptoms, from the day you get a positive test result.

You must self-isolate if you get a positive test result, even if you do not have symptoms.

You may be able to stop self-isolating before the end of 10 full days. You can do a rapid lateral flow test from day 5 of your self-isolation and another test the next day. If both results are negative you can stop self-isolating.

If you do not get 2 negative results from rapid lateral flow tests taken a day apart, you must self-isolate for a full 10 days. This applies if you have been vaccinated or not.

If your rapid lateral flow test or PCR test result is positive the other members of your group must also self-isolate for 10 days.

Self-isolation applies unless they:

  • are fully vaccinated
  • are under the age of 18 years 6 months
  • have taken part in or are currently part of an approved COVID-19 vaccine trial
  • are not able to get vaccinated for medical reasons

You and members of your group may be entitled to a one-off payment of £500 through the NHS Test and Trace Support Payment scheme if you are required to self-isolate.

Follow guidance on what to do if you get a positive rapid lateral flow or PCR test result.

How to get COVID-19 vaccinations if you are not fully vaccinated

To get the best protection against COVID-19, you should get fully vaccinated.

If you had one vaccination (your first dose) before you arrived in the UK, you should register with a GP surgery and discuss how to get a second dose. The second dose you get in the UK could be a different vaccine to the first dose you had.

Employing workers from overseas

Follow this guidance if you are a grower or producer, labour provider or agency bringing workers from overseas to work on farms, processing sites or slaughterhouses in England.

You should make sure that workers have documentary evidence to confirm that they are travelling to one of the following:

  • your farm or other premises for seasonal agricultural or horticultural work
  • your farm, processing site or slaughterhouse to carry out pork processing

Workers must have these documents before they travel which they can show to border officials at the UK border.

You should follow the principles set out in the working safely guidance.

Read the industry best practice guidance on seasonal working during COVID on the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board website.

Transport

When arranging transport for workers between their accommodation and processing sites, consider safer transport guidance for operators.

Accommodation

When arranging accommodation, consider guidance on:

Arriving at the farm, processing site or slaughterhouse

When workers arrive at the farm, processing site or slaughterhouse, you should give them:

  • clear instructions about their working and living arrangements, and the COVID-19 related safety procedures you have put in place in the workplace
  • guidance on how to stay safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19
  • information about testing, and how you will help them meet these requirements
  • information on what to do if they have symptoms

You should ask workers to confirm in writing that they have received and understood this information. You should provide translation services if these are needed.

Grouping workers from countries and territories not on the red list who are not fully vaccinated

You can choose to put workers arriving from countries and territories not on the red list who are not fully vaccinated into groups of up to 6, and limit contact with others outside of those groups.

Unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated worker groups should be made up of workers arriving in England within 24 hours of each other.

Groups of workers should:

  • live and work together on the farm (if they are living on the farm) or in other accommodation if they are working on a processing site or slaughterhouse
  • travel separately from other groups from their accommodation to the processing site or slaughterhouse
  • use shared facilities such as kitchens and living areas at separate times if other groups are also living in the accommodation

Grouping workers from countries and territories not on the red list who are fully vaccinated and arrivals from red-list countries

You can group workers from countries and territories not on the red list who are fully vaccinated and arrivals from red-list countries once they have completed their mandatory hotel quarantine.

You can decide how big the groups are. Consider how you will isolate different groups of workers on your farm, processing site or slaughterhouse if anyone in the group develops COVID-19.

Follow guidance on what to do if anyone in the group develops symptoms.

Testing for your employees

You should help your employees access rapid lateral flow tests.

You can:

If an employee gets a positive result for a rapid lateral flow test they only need to arrange a follow-up PCR test if they:

  • wish to claim the Test and Trace Support Payment
  • have a health condition that means they may be suitable for new COVID-19 treatments
  • are taking rapid lateral flow tests as part of research or surveillance programmes, and the programme asks them to do so
  • are an international arrival and have a positive day 2 rapid lateral flow test

Updates to this page

Published 3 June 2020
Last updated 8 March 2022 + show all updates

  1. Updated with guidance for people travelling from Russia.

  2. Updated with guidance for people travelling from Ukraine.

  3. Updated government advice on face coverings and testing.

  4. Added guidance for seasonal horticultural work.

  5. Updated guidance for confirmatory PCR tests and travel test changes. Removed references to seasonal poultry workers because the scheme ended for those workers on 31 December.

  6. Changes to self-isolating period following a COVID-19 PCR positive test.

  7. Updated with guidance on self isolation rules for contacts of someone with COVID-19.

  8. Updated guidance on wearing a face covering on public transport.

  9. Added advice for pork butchers coming to England for seasonal work and how workers can get Covid-19 vaccinations while they are in the UK.

  10. Updated with changes to rules for travel to England from countries not on the red list.

  11. Updated the translation pages.

  12. Updated guidance on self-isolation rules for vaccinated workers.

  13. Updated guidance on preventing the spread of COVID-19 for seasonal agricultural workers and employers.

  14. Updated the translations.

  15. Updated with new guidance on travelling from a country or territory listed as red, amber or green.

  16. Updated the translations.

  17. Updated with new requirements on testing.

  18. Updated with a link to the countries from which travel to the UK is banned.

  19. Updated guidance with new rules on what you need to do before travelling to the UK

  20. Updated to reflect that the self-isolation period is now 10 days instead of 14 with day zero being the day of contact.

  21. Updated with a link to guidance on COVID-19 alert levels.

  22. Updated Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian translations.

  23. Updated Bulgarian translation.

  24. Updated the Polish and Romanian versions.

  25. Updated guidance under the 'Travelling from an exempt country' heading.

  26. Updated with guidance for travellers coming from countries that are exempt from quarantine rules.

  27. First published.

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